USCE 2024: Macklemore Is The New Michael Moore

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > USCE 2024: Macklemore Is The New Michael Moore

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Speaking of plummeting numbers:

https://twitter.com/PpollingNumbers/status/1752670573279293943

TL;DR: Trump is leading Biden in every swing state according to this latest round of polls from Morning Consult.

# ¿ Jan 31, 2024 18:10

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 09:50

B B: Dec 1, 2005

It would probably be easier to fight back against the "Donald the Dove" stuff if his opponent weren't actively supporting and enabling a genocide.

# ¿ Feb 3, 2024 17:46

B B: Dec 1, 2005

zoux posted:

https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1753938395548516624

Obama got 89% in SC in �12. Remember this next time you see a poll with xtabs showing trump winning a third of minority voters.

It appears that Obama won SC with more than 99% of the vote in 2012:

Wikipedia posted:

Incumbent President Barack Obama ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and easily won with more than 99% of the vote. The Democratic primary was held on January 28, 2012, one week after the Republican primary.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_United_States_presidential_election_in_South_Carolina

# ¿ Feb 4, 2024 03:37

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Discendo Vox posted:

Probably not, barring extreme shifts.

There was a pretty extreme shift in vote totals. There were about 540,000 votes in the 2020 primary, and with 84% of the vote in there are only about 121,000 votes. Looks like there might be a huge enthusiasm problem, since Biden's only going to draw about 1/4th of the 2020 voters out to the polls. Pretty ominous.

(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

# ¿ Feb 4, 2024 04:26

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Zwabu posted:

Comparing turnout numbers in a contested primary with a big field of candidates where the Democrats were challengers to an incumbent Trump with an essentially uncontested primary where Biden is the incumbent president is comical.

As is calling the results a "historic victory," which is what the Democrats are doing:

https://twitter.com/TheDemocrats/status/1754151660295696526

# ¿ Feb 4, 2024 17:14

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Zwabu posted:

So you agree that your post was comical then?

Sure, historic victory is silly hyperbole, but a party/team is going to hype its results and I find this much more understandable than your comparing 2020 Dem primary turnout to this year.

It wasn't made in jest, no, but if my post was perceived as comical, I thought that tweet was even more comical. He beat Orb Lady and What's-His-Name.

My post was also made in the context of a conversation where someone further upthread was comparing the primary results from 2024 to results from the 2012 primary (that the poster had actually misread, mind you) and making claims about how this surely shows that Biden is going to defeat Trump. Is there a reason you chose to say my post was comical but skip over that one?

B B fucked around with this message at 17:32 on Feb 4, 2024

# ¿ Feb 4, 2024 17:29

B B: Dec 1, 2005

koolkal posted:

The big reason it's in the news is due to the special prosecutor's report. He was hired by Garland, who Biden himself picked.

Blaming this on Republicans is silly. Biden shot himself in the foot.

It's also not just Republicans who have concerns. This is from a poll that was released two days before the report and press conference:

NBC posted:

In the new poll, a combined 76% of voters say they have major concerns (62%) or moderate concerns (14%) about Biden�s not having the necessary mental and physical health to be president for a second term, compared with 24% who have either minor concerns (13%) or no concerns at all (11%).

By party, 95% of Republican voters, 81% of independents and 54% of Democrats say they have major or moderate concerns about Biden�s fitness for a second term.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/bidens-age-fitness-top-list-voters-concerns-poll-finds-rcna137212

Seems bad that a majority of Democrats and an overwhelming majority of independents had concerns.

This particular series of events probably won't factor into the election much or at all, but it does add to a growing perception that Biden isn't mentally fit. If there's a similar series of events around election day, it could end up hurting him at the polls.

# ¿ Feb 10, 2024 17:53

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Trump also believes that the body has a finite amount of energy, which is why he doesn't exercise. He believes a lot of stupid poo poo.

# ¿ Feb 10, 2024 21:23

B B: Dec 1, 2005

cdc posted:

Because Trump is not talking to you, me or anybody in this thread. Yes, he's got major brain worms, but his message is directed at the chuds and rednecks who go "yeah, tractors and poo poo, oorah. USA! USA!".

They understand tractors and poo poo, but magnets? How do they work?

It doesn't make sense to us, but it makes sense to them. And that is all that matters.

It would probably take a scientist to clear up the whole magnet thing, and I really don't want to talk to one. Those motherfuckers are lying, and it's gettin' me pissed.

# ¿ Feb 10, 2024 21:48

B B: Dec 1, 2005

https://twitter.com/Mediaite/status/1756390099359596822

She's running.

# ¿ Feb 11, 2024 01:54

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Freakazoid_ posted:

Speaking of, could a dem outsider run against Biden at this point? Is it too late or could someone actually have a chance? And if it's too late, when would there have been a better time? How about an incumbent with no political experience?

It's pretty much too late for anyone except Dean Phillips. The vast majority of primary filing deadlines have passed at this point, and there really aren't enough that haven't to get anywhere near enough pledged delegates for a majority. There's still plenty of time for independent candidates to file, but there are some deadlines starting to creep up next month:

https://ballotpedia.org/Deadline_to_run_for_president,_2024

# ¿ Feb 11, 2024 02:13

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Discendo Vox posted:

Biden and Trump both don't drink. This is genuinely probably a big factor.

You're probably right about that. All of them have a history of eating ultra-processed food, but Clinton is the only one among them who drinks alcohol. Hadn't really thought about that much, but it does make sense.

# ¿ Feb 11, 2024 05:21

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Kalit posted:

There is essentially no chance Trump could convince his own party to cut Israel aid to nothing.

And even if he somehow did, they currently spend about 4.5% of their GDP on military spending. I think they would do just fine with affording weapons without the US�s aid for a few years. If they hadn�t already annihilated Gaza by that point

There is quite a lot that the U.S. could do, since Israel is currently highly dependent on American ammunition and aircraft:

Israel Today posted:

Israel begins shift to domestic ammunition production

�The lesson from the war in Ukraine and against Hamas is identical: Israel must significantly increase its arsenal,� said a former Israeli defense official.

In the wake of the ongoing war against Hamas and its exposure of Israel�s near total dependence on the United States to replenish its stocks of ammunition, Israel has begun shifting toward greater domestic ammunition production.

The Israeli Defense Ministry has begun reaching out to local defense companies to boost production lines and place orders that will ensure they churn out ammunition for years to come, as a top priority.

The ministry saw domestic production as a priority even before the war, but the issue has now risen to the top of the national agenda.

�The lesson from the war in Ukraine and against Hamas is identical: Israel must significantly increase the arsenal with which it enters the campaign,� a former defense official told JNS.

This includes a variety of arms, ranging from Iron Dome interceptors to sophisticated guided air-to-ground munitions and artillery shells. Tank shells could also be a candidate for domestic production.

Yet not everything can be moved to Israel. Military aircraft will continue to be made in the United States.

The cost of producing aircraft for a single military without exporting them to additional clients would make their production a financial non-starter for Israeli defense industries. Nor would the US agree for Israel to begin competing with it in the global fighter aircraft market, as the 1980s Lavi jet project, which shut down for these reasons, demonstrated.

On Jan. 25, ministry director general Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir concluded a working visit to Washington, DC, where he met with senior US Department of Defense and State Department leadership, as well as with Lockheed Martin and Boeing executives.

Those two companies produce the Israeli Air Force�s growing fleet�F-35s, CH53 transport helicopters, Apache helicopters and F-15s. Israel is reportedly attempting to fast-track some of those deliveries, particularly the Apaches.

�The visit underscored the close cooperation between Israel and the United States since the beginning of the ongoing Swords of Iron war,� the ministry said in a statement at the time. �Maj. Gen. (res.) Zamir engaged in discussions with his American counterparts about armament procurement, aligning with preparations for evolving combat scenarios. The discussions also focused on plans for force build-up in the upcoming multi-year strategy, including the acquisition of advanced platforms and capabilities to maintain the IDF�s qualitative military edge and readiness for diverse scenarios. This approach integrates lessons learned from the war into strategies for obtaining military equipment,� it stated.

Nevertheless, it has become painfully clear that Israel�s dependence on American ammunition supplies, which saw more than 200 cargo planes touch down Israel following Hamas�s Oct. 7 invasion, has become a danger to national security and independence.

This dependence means that any Israeli Cabinet must consider the principle of �legitimacy� in its warfare planning�a principle that could become paralyzing if leverage over Israel becomes too great.

Should that principle trickle down into operational decision-making, the result can only harm Israel�s war efforts.

IDF combat officers should be thinkingly purely about how to accomplish missions, while of course adhering to the IDF�s own internal ethical code and upholding its own internal commitment to adhering to the laws of armed conflict. But if concerns over �legitimacy� in the eyes of a foreign government, no matter how close an ally, creep in, due to ammunition reliance, that is a serious problem.

Furthermore, Israel�s current lack of independent mass ammunition production has meant that the IDF needs to weigh its uses of resources carefully in Gaza, when looking at multi-arena threats in the north and at Iran, both of which could become involved in full-scale wars at any time.

Such precaution means that the IDF has been running an �armament economy� regarding certain munitions.

Both the air force and the ground forces must take the prospects of additional fronts catching fire into account.

All of this means that mass domestic ammunition production is a must-have for Israel going forward, and there are encouraging signs that this is in fact what is developing.

This will also create very real economic burdens in the future; American ammunition was bought with US aid money.

For Israel to create and fund new production lines among its defense industries, it will also need to ensure that society can manage this burden by having as many economically productive citizens in the work force as possible.

https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/israel-begins-shift-to-domestic-ammunition-production/

Biden circumvented Congress twice in one month to rush ammunition to Israel. Israel's genocide of Gazans relies heavily on the material support that Biden is hellbent on continuing to provide to the genocidal regime.

# ¿ Feb 11, 2024 15:26

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Kalit posted:

The hypothetical was that Trump would give less aid to Israel, not that he would stop selling weapons to Israel.

He absolutely wouldn�t stop selling weapons to Israel, as we all saw how eager he was to brag about selling them when he was in office.

Biden should stop selling weapons to Israel while they're carrying out a genocide. Until he stops, he supports and is actively participating in a genocide.

# ¿ Feb 11, 2024 15:32

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Xalidur posted:

Blaming Biden for what Israel is doing is a lot like blaming the Democrats for what the Republicans are doing. It's a worldview wherein the liberals/moderates are the main characters of the world and they could fix everything if only they cared enough or tried enough or had better morals. Unfortunately, they are not nearly so powerful.

Israel is murdering Gazans with weapons and ammunition produced in America. Joe Biden has circumvented congress multiple times to provide ammunition to the genocidal regime of Israel, and he is actively seeking $17.6 billion in additional funding for Israel's ethnic cleansing campaign. His administration also continues to gaslight the public about what is happening in Gaza.

Biden not only deserves blame, but he is actively participating in the genocide of Gazans.

# ¿ Feb 11, 2024 17:56

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Main Paineframe posted:

I also like how you've completely ignored the fact that the genocide didn't start in October 2023 and won't end when a ceasefire happens. Agitating for a ceasefire for humanitarian reasons is one thing, but don't pretend it'll end the genocide in Gaza. Trump and Obama both supported the genocide in Gaza, along with almost every member of Congress in the last few decades, and all of a sudden it's becoming a dealbreaker in only this one particular election? I'm deeply worried that people on the left are going to use Gaza as an excuse to help get Trump back into office, and then go back to not caring about Gaza at all, secure in the knowledge that they managed to find themselves an excuse to not vote for Biden despite the fact that he's responded to most of their domestic policy demands. It's nice that supporting genocides has suddenly become a dealbreaker among people who've happily voted for pro-genocide presidents and members of Congress in the past, but I can't help but notice how often it's coming from people who've hated Biden since 2019 and have consistently taken every excuse they can find to advocate opposing him. It's not exactly persuasive when someone with a NoJoe 2020 tag suggests that an event that happened in 2023 is the reason they can't possibly justify voting for Biden. I'm rather concerned that all the leftists who suddenly discovered a deep concern about Gaza a few months ago are going to express that concern solely through leaving the "President" slot on their ballot blank, pat themselves on the back for doing their part to stop genocide, and then forget all about Palestine and go back to ranting about student loans or railroad unions or something. Overturning the overwhelming American political consensus in favor of Israel is a large undertaking that'll probably take several Congressional election cycles (because the true root of it is in Congress, not in the presidency!).

I understand that you take great pride in having cared about the Palestinians before it was cool, but you're not the only poster on these forums who was aware of the genocide prior to October 7. In the unarchived portion of the forums, we've got threads on the conflict that date back a decade, and tons of posters have discussed the apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and genocide that the Israelis have been committing against the Palestinians.

In any case, if the leftists have as much power as you seem to think they might, Genocide Joe should maybe stop contributing material support to the genocide--not just to get the votes of these leftists, but because supporting genocide is pretty loving evil.

# ¿ Feb 11, 2024 19:07

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Biden's campaign website doesn't even have an issues page, so you pretty much have to hunt down YouTube videos of ads he's running in swing states or sit through hours of him struggling to read a teleprompter to figure out what his priorities are.

# ¿ Feb 11, 2024 21:08

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Google Jeb Bush posted:

was skimming Biden admin news and well I guess he's reading this thread

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing...u-of-israel-11/

in not entirely other news

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing...z-of-germany-2/

mostly Ukraine chat and Israel chat

in actual other news

https://www.uscis.gov/EOY2023

"Completing an unprecedented 10 million immigration cases, the agency reduced its immigration backlog for the first time in more than a decade", sad lol

More important than any of this, he has politely asked companies that produce ultra-processed foods to stop skimming our treats:

https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1756713597864988940

# ¿ Feb 12, 2024 01:25

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Tatsuta Age posted:

Are you saying this is actually bad or what

No, I--like every red-blooded American--want the full quantity of treats for which I have paid.

E: He's got terrible choice in ice cream, though, if those are for him.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2024 01:37

B B: Dec 1, 2005

socialsecurity posted:

The last feedback thread it was brought up multiple times that electorialism like this needs its own thread, but as with most feedback that went nowhere.

It's been 95 days since the last feedback thread, which is roughly a quarter of a year, the cadence we've been having those threads. Has there been any word on when the next feedback thread is going to be?

# ¿ Feb 12, 2024 02:36

B B: Dec 1, 2005

lol at wasting money on bath water when the fart jars are available

# ¿ Feb 13, 2024 04:01

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Biden is a historically unpopular president, but Kamala's numbers are pretty much in line with his:

I guess one thing she has going for her is that, unlike for our ancient President, there aren't any recent polls where 86% of Americans say they think she's too old for the job. The public seems generally unhappy with the job they've been doing, though, so swapping them out probably wouldn't accomplish much.

# ¿ Feb 13, 2024 16:55

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Kchama posted:

Nixon, Carter, Truman, HW Bush, GW Bush, and Trump are deeply grateful that you forgot they exist.

With the exception of Truman, Biden is polling worse than all of them at the same point in their respective presidencies. He's also trending downward both in terms of his overall approval rating and net approval rating. I think he just needs a little more time to become the GOAT of unpopular presidents.

# ¿ Feb 13, 2024 17:15

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Kchama posted:

Trump, Truman, HW Bush, and Carter had far worse at this time in their presidency. But you haven�t been saying �historically unpopular at this exact time in their presidency� you have been saying �historically unpopular�, which Biden is far from. And even then, the only one that leaves out is GWB because he had insane massive popularity in this first term due to 9/11. One that faded he was the most historically unpopular president we have polls for.

EDIT: What I�m getting at is that having poo poo popularity 3/4th of your term isn�t unusual, and the �non-historically unpopular� presidents usually don�t fare that much better around this time. Even Obama had a pretty bad approval rating at this point and he pretty well cruised to a second term. Biden�s approval rating is bad, but even Ronald Reagan�s polls were bad around this time too.

Of the Presidents you mentioned, only Truman was polling worse than Biden at this point in their respective presidencies:

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-approval-rating/

Reagan was also above 50% at this point in his presidency. Obama was also trending upward at this point in his presidency and was hovering around 50% by the time election day came.

Biden's numbers do indicate that he is historically unpopular.

# ¿ Feb 13, 2024 17:31

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Kagrenak posted:

I don't see the Times mentioning this, just foxnews and the Post? Though they directly quote a briefing question response. If this is accurate it is kind of weird as a basic cognitive test is pretty standard for patients who are 65+

KJP was asked about it during the White House briefing yesterday and confirmed that he won't take a cognitive test:

Yahoo posted:

Biden's upcoming physical exam will not include a cognitive test, White House says

President Biden will not take a cognitive test as part of his upcoming physical exam, the White House confirmed Monday.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that Biden's physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, does not believe a cognitive test is necessary. She said O'Connor believes Biden proves his cognitive ability "every day [in] how he operates and how he thinks."

Reporters pressed Jean-Pierre on the issue due to last week's report from Special Counsel Robert Hur that found Biden has significant memory issues.

"Does the White House think that the idea of the president taking a cognitive test as a part of this physical is a legitimate idea?" a reporter asked.

"I'm just gonna say what Dr. O'Connor said to me about a year ago when [Biden's physical] was released," Jean-Pierre responded. "The president proves every day [in] how he operates and how he thinks, by dealing with world leaders, by making difficult decisions on behalf of the American people � whether it's domestic or it's national security."

"That is how Dr. O'Connor sees it, and that is how I'm going to leave it," she added.

Jean-Pierre gave a more full-throated defense of Biden when reporters continued to press her on the topic. She said she has known Biden for more than a decade and continues to find him to be "sharp" and "on top of things."

"When we have meetings with him and his staff he is constantly pushing us, trying to get more information, and so that has been my experience with this president," she said.

Recent polling has found that Biden's age is a major issue for a majority of not only Americans in general, but also Democrats. A Sunday poll from ABC/Ipsos found that 86% of Americans believe Biden is too old to serve another term, including 73% of Democrats.

https://news.yahoo.com/bidens-upcoming-physical-exam-not-194607840.html

Here's the relevant part of the briefing for anyone interested: https://www.youtube.com/live/EyknhFs09oY?feature=shared&t=2711

Despite his advanced age and memory issues, I'm glad to see that Biden has better instincts than Elizabeth Warren with regard to taking tests a politician absolutely should not take.

B B fucked around with this message at 17:43 on Feb 13, 2024

# ¿ Feb 13, 2024 17:38

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Main Paineframe posted:

Sure, but why pin it to a particular point in their presidencies? It's not like presidential approval ratings are primarily time-based or follow consistent patterns over the course of an administration. They're heavily influenced by real-world events and conditions.

If you were talking just about the election, then yeah, comparing Biden's approval rating before the election to other presidents' approval ratings before their reelection attempt might be informative (though I think we're still a little too early for that to be useful). But when you're talking about popularity in general, it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense to compare across the same point in each president's term.

I was responding to a claim that other presidents were polling worse at this point in their presidencies that Biden at this point in their presidencies. I also pointed out that his numbers are and have been on a downward trend for quite some time. I haven't made any claims about what kind of impact that this will have on the results of the presidential election, because it's far too early for polls to be predictive. I do think that his level of unpopularity--he's more unpopular than Trump at this point, even--combined with the fact that nearly 90% of the American populace thinks he's too old to be president is not a great sign, even if it's not predictive.

# ¿ Feb 13, 2024 18:23

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Kchama posted:

No you weren�t. I was only challenging your �Historically unpopular� because other presidents were more unpopular, period.

I said nothing about �at this point in their presidency�.

You also made this claim, which is wrong:

Kchama posted:

Trump, Truman, HW Bush, and Carter had far worse at this time in their presidency. But you haven�t been saying �historically unpopular at this exact time in their presidency� you have been saying �historically unpopular�, which Biden is far from. And even then, the only one that leaves out is GWB because he had insane massive popularity in this first term due to 9/11. One that faded he was the most historically unpopular president we have polls for.

EDIT: What I�m getting at is that having poo poo popularity 3/4th of your term isn�t unusual, and the �non-historically unpopular� presidents usually don�t fare that much better around this time. Even Obama had a pretty bad approval rating at this point and he pretty well cruised to a second term. Biden�s approval rating is bad, but even Ronald Reagan�s polls were bad around this time too.

Biden's numbers are absolute dogshit, and it's laughable that he's somehow found a way to be even more unpopular than Trump. Either way, I'm happy to drop the discussion, because we're talking in circles at this point.

# ¿ Feb 13, 2024 18:35

B B: Dec 1, 2005

A couple of interesting follow ups to the special counsel report on Biden's classified documents situation.

First up, it looks like the House is working on setting up time for Hur to testify about the report:

CNN posted:

First on CNN: House GOP in discussions with Biden special counsel Robert Hur for testimony

House Republicans have reached out to special counsel Robert Hur to discuss having him testify in front of the House Judiciary Committee about his report on President Joe Biden�s handling of classified documents, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

Hur�s report released last week did not charge the president with a crime, but it painted a picture of a forgetful commander in chief who failed to properly protect highly sensitive classified information � a depiction that could hurt Biden politically and that Republicans have seized on.

Hur has retained Bill Burck as his personal attorney. While there is no date on the calendar, they are looking toward the end of February, one of the sources told CNN. The Justice Department declined to comment.

House Republicans leading the impeachment inquiry also asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to turn over the transcript of the special counsel�s interview with the president in a new letter on Monday. The Republican committee chairs are also asking the Department of Justice to supply Congress with �any recordings, notes, or summaries� of the special counsel�s interview with the president.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/12/politics/house-republicans-robert-hur/index.html

There's also new polling out that indicates half of Americans feel that Biden got special treatment during the special counsel investigation because he is a sitting president. 78% of respondents also indicate that they feel Biden is too old to be President, which is similar to the result that ABC got a couple days ago:

Reuters posted:

Half of Americans think Biden got special treatment in document probe, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - About half of Americans think President Joe Biden got special treatment when federal prosecutors decided last week they would not prosecute him for allegedly mishandling classified documents, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Some 53% of respondents, including 29% of Democrats, in the four-day poll which closed on Monday, agree with a statement that "Biden received special treatment because he is the U.S. president."

About half - or 46% - of respondents said they were at least somewhat familiar with U.S. Special Counsel Robert Hur's comments that prosecuting Biden would be tough because Biden, 81, could present himself to the jury "as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."

Biden has blasted Hur's report which suggested the president was suffering memory lapses.

The poll results underscore potentially critical vulnerabilities for Biden as he seeks re-election. Some 78% of respondents in the poll - including 71% of Democrats - think Biden, already the oldest person ever to occupy the Oval Office, is too old to work in government.

Trump, his likely opponent in the November election, is 77 but suffers less from voter skepticism over his age. Only 53% of respondents consider Trump, who was president 2017-2021, to be too old for government work.

The poll also points to potential room for Trump to undercut Biden's campaign strategy of calling attention to Trump's myriad legal problems.

Trump is facing four criminal indictments and dozens of charges but claims innocence on all counts and has argued the government's failure to prosecute Biden is evidence the justice system is trying to derail his presidential run.

Biden's lawyers reported finding documents in his home and office space that he had took with him at the close of his 2009-2017 term as vice president under Democratic President Barack Obama.

Some 64% of respondents, including 50% of Democrats, considered it believable that Biden's took the information illegally. A similar share of respondents - 68% - said they considered it believable that Trump also mishandled classified documents, a charge that is at the center of one of his indictments.

Still, Biden remains neck-and-neck with Trump among voters in a potential head-to-head race, a sign that his vulnerabilities on his legal issues and his age could be offset by the risks facing Trump's campaign.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll surveyed 1,237 U.S. adults nationwide between Feb. 9 and Feb 12. It had a margin of error of about 3 percentage points in either direction.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/half-americans-think-biden-got-special-treatment-document-probe-reutersipsos-2024-02-13/

# ¿ Feb 13, 2024 21:33

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Some more details coming out regarding Biden's alleged inability to remember when his son died:

NBC posted:

Biden attacked Hur for asking him when Beau died. That didn't happen, sources say.

The president raised his son�s death after being asked about his workflow at a Virginia rental home, where he said he found classified materials, two sources said.

Feb. 14, 2024, 3:29 PM EST
By Ken Dilanian
President Joe Biden lashed out at Robert Hur last week over one particular line in the special counsel's report on his handling of classified documents: that Biden "did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died."

�How in the hell dare he raise that?� Biden told reporters in an impromptu White House press conference. �Frankly, when I was asked the question, I thought to myself, it wasn�t any of their drat business.�

But Hur never asked that question, according to two people familiar with Hur�s five-hour interview with the president over two days last October. It was the president, not Hur or his team, who first introduced Beau Biden�s death, they said.

Biden raised his son�s death after being asked about his workflow at a Virginia rental home from 2016 to 2018, the sources said, when a ghost writer was helping him write a memoir about losing Beau to brain cancer in 2015. Investigators had a 2017 recording showing that Biden had told the ghost writer he had found �classified stuff� in that home, the report says.

Biden began trying to recall that period by discussing what else was happening in his life, and it was at that point in the interview that he appeared confused about when Beau had died, the sources said. Biden got the date�May 30�correct, but not the year.

Hur's 345-page report absolved Biden of criminal wrongdoing while pointing to evidence that he took home and kept highly classified material. Even though Biden was found to have disclosed classified information to the ghost writer on three occasions, prosecutors concluded that they could not prove that the president knew it was classified information at the time.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/biden-attacked-hur-asking-beau-died-didnt-happen-sources-say-rcna138709

The article goes on much longer, but that's the gist of it.

# ¿ Feb 14, 2024 22:36

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

The recordings of the interview will be the most important part. If he was genuinely fumbling and dazed for most of those questions, then you'll be able to tell.

A transcript isn't as useful for making those distinctions during a deposition because any good lawyer is going to tell you to say "I don't recall" or "I have no memory of that" to any questions asking for too much specificity (see the many infamous deposition tapes where someone says they don't recall hundreds of times and the headlines) to avoid potential perjury or contradictions.

There's not much you can definitively say one way or the other from the outside with such limited public information.

Interestingly, Biden's advisors are apparently gearing up for a clash over the release of the transcripts and recordings and there's apparently internal disagreement over whether they want them released at all:

https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1758178150297587766?t=zmC96n1Da_vb-BYBX-w3Ow&s=19

It seems to me that if the recordings definitely dispute what Hur is claiming happened and during the interviews and support Biden's version, the Biden administration would be calling for them to be released. This would be an excellent opportunity to show how sharp and focused he is.

# ¿ Feb 15, 2024 22:23

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Skex posted:

FDR was literally dying while running for reelection and coming up with the United Nations and fighting and beating literal loving Nazis. All this garbage about Biden's age and health is just a distraction from the fact that the GOP candidate is loving nutjob.

When he died, FDR was about 20 years younger than Biden, and FDR's death was a result of his brain hemorrhaging rather than turning to mush.

# ¿ Feb 16, 2024 01:06

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Google Jeb Bush posted:

Very popular in Illinois, pretty good positions for a non-socialist, hasn't succumbed to the Illinois Governor Curse, can eat the opposing nominee.

If we must be ruled by a billionaire, may as well be Pritzker.

As a billionaire, he also represents the only constituency the Democratic Party actually cares about.

# ¿ Feb 17, 2024 01:22

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Queering Wheel posted:

Luckily Dems already have experience countering this strategy; the Virginia elections had Glenn Youngkin and the GOP attempting to be "reasonable" by supporting a 15 week ban with exceptions, and they got smoked.

People just do not like restrictions on abortion no matter how reasonable they are made to sound. I don't really think that there's much Trump can do about this; he's the one who created the current situation in the first place. Talking about abortion at all is just going to hurt his chances in the general election.

These were the Virginia election results:

The Democrats did come out on top, but I'd hardly call this "getting smoked." Public opinion is fortunately on the Democratic Party's side on this issue, but it's not a silver bullet. There were enough close races that this could have easily flipped, as well.

B B fucked around with this message at 16:49 on Feb 17, 2024

# ¿ Feb 17, 2024 16:42

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Queering Wheel posted:

You're right that "getting smoked" is probably overstating it, but I do think that if Trump loses, it's going to be because of abortion. It's a massive issue that affects literally half the people in the country, Democrat or Republican. I just don't think that any strategy other than avoiding the topic/deflecting to other issues is going to work for Trump. The more abortion is being talked about and the less the economy/immigration/other issues are being talked about, the better Biden's chances are.

Yeah, I think the abortion issue will factor in heavily, but I think that Biden is talking about abortion very differently than Democratic candidates in Virginia did. Biden uses the right-wing framing of "abortion on demand" when he talks about the issue:

Joe Biden posted:

�I�m a practicing Catholic. I don�t want abortion on demand, but I thought Roe v. Wade was right.�

This kind of language is unhelpful, to say the least, but it's not really all that surprising to see Biden accept and promote right-wing framing of the issue.

# ¿ Feb 17, 2024 17:57

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Here's a video everyone can hopefully enjoy:

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1758971150309191806

These are apparently the shoes he was trying to sell:

https://twitter.com/JaredRyanSears/status/1758974403746968008

# ¿ Feb 17, 2024 23:29

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

I do find it kind of darkly funny that they are willing to put down as policy really extreme stuff like ending no fault divorce, ending surrogacy, and being in favor of amending the concept of separation of church and state, but the same document also takes a compromise position on abortion and explicitly allows blue states to keep performing abortions for the first 16 weeks.

There has to be somewhere in the country for the Christofascists to travel to get their abortions.

Crows Turn Off posted:

This stuff is terrifying and possible. This list should be made clear far and wide to every possible Democratic voter.

Too bad the Genocide Joe folks don't care about Christofascism here or domestic policy and would rather vote for Trump just because they incorrectly perceive him as less beholden to Israel.

Just a heads up that there was just another ceasefire vote in the U.N., and the United States vetoed it. It was the only country to vote against it. It sure seems like Genocide Joe is directing his administration to take measures to keep the genocide going.

B B fucked around with this message at 17:58 on Feb 20, 2024

# ¿ Feb 20, 2024 17:53

B B: Dec 1, 2005

In some lighter news, SBF seems like he's making friends in prison:

https://twitter.com/TiffanyFong_/status/1759771479645020571

# ¿ Feb 20, 2024 19:03

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Kchama posted:

It's not like he'd do less genocide, since he'd happily enable or do nothing to stop the other genocides going on or being attempted in the world. He wouldn't even help the Gazans, as when Oct 7th happened he wailed that he wished he was president so he could send in an American ground invasion of Gaza to drown the country in Gazan blood.

But somehow he ain't Genocide Trump.

I think we call Genocide Joe "Genocide Joe" because he's the one actively participating in the genocide and preventing the UN from calling for a ceasefire. As far as we know, Donald Trump isn't currently providing any material support in the way that Joe Biden continues to do. I am sure that if Donald Trump manages to win the presidency from Joe Biden and provides material support to the genocide, you'll see people criticizing Donald Trump with similar language.

# ¿ Feb 20, 2024 19:53

B B: Dec 1, 2005

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

What is the source of that picture and is SBF actually hanging out with Bloods?

Still wild that he is basically dying in prison for bitcoin.

The other guy who is uncensored apparently provided the photo to the author of the tweet I posted. She interviewed him, and he provided the photo. Apparently the inmates are allowed to take group photos around Christmas time.

Supposedly SBF is making friends because has a reputation of not being a snitch, but he has been losing massive amounts of weight because he isn't able to keep his regular vegan diet.

# ¿ Feb 20, 2024 19:56

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 09:50

B B: Dec 1, 2005

volts5000 posted:

Well, yeah when you don't care (or pretend to care) about literally any other group of people, it may seem like that. It's mostly dealing with realities of living in American democracy and making the best choices within it. Sure, if I was willing to throw all of my friends and colleagues under the bus, I could take the brave stand to do nothing and look smug while doing it. But I can't do that.

The "best choice" here apparently involves circumventing Congress multiple times to provide ammunition to a genocidal regime, gaslighting the public about the ongoing genocide, and blocking any efforts by the international community to stop the ongoing genocide,.

# ¿ Feb 20, 2024 20:38

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