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Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

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Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#591

Post by proc0 »

rsynnott wrote: post #505
proc0 wrote: post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think he did. The timing is too convenient after two weeks of him reassuring people he would win over and over.

That’s just how you do it. It would have been far, far more damaging for him to spend a few weeks going “ah, well, maybe I won’t run”. It always looks a bit silly in retrospect, but total confidence right up until you change direction is just how you have to do politics, in general.

It seems to me the pressure built up and he could no longer fight it, which means he had no choice. The party did not allow it, just like they didn't allow Bernie in 2016.

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#592

Post by dredmorbius »

Rebelgecko wrote: post #43

Is this unprecedented?

Depends on how you look at it.

As others have pointed out, Lyndon B. Johnson declined the nomination for Democratic Presidential candidate in March of 1968, well before both most of the primary contensts and the then-open Democratic Convention in Chicago. Rather famously, that convention didn't go particularly smoothly.

(In an interesting coincidence, this year's Democratic primary is also in Chicago.)

George McGovern's 1972 vice presidential nominee, Thomas Eagleton, stepped down after it was revealed Eagleton had undergone electroshock therapy, two weeks after the Democratic Convention. McGovern selected Sargent Shriver as the replacement candidate.

Horace Greeley, Liberal Republican Party and Democratic Party candidate in the 1872 election, running against incumbent Ulysses S. Grant, died on 29 November 1872, after the general election but before the Electoral College met to count its votes. Greeley carried no states and won no Electoral College votes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Democratic_Party_presiden...>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Eagleton#Replacement_on...>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1872_United_States_presidentia...>

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#593

Post by Macha »

bastawhiz wrote: post #551
HarHarVeryFunny wrote: post #318

Not going to happen, but I wonder how a mixed party ticket would do. Kamala (or whoever) + Mitt Romney as VP ? Has it ever been done? Would it work to attract the center/swing vote, or more likely to be a negative?

You'd have to get Romney on board with it. You'd be electing a Democrat administration with a Republican VP. It's not split, it's just a blue ticket with a red VP. If you want to bolster the ticket, get someone that people already like. Hell, get Obama or Sanders to come back as the VP.

Obama can't be VP either as the rules are that anyone ineligible to be president can't be elected as VP (there's apparently some debate over whether they could become VP via being promoted from lower down in the succession in the event of a presidential vacancy).

Sanders could, but I think he has the double issue of his two prior failed campaigns - a lot of his more motivated voters from previous times might have a "boy who cried wolf" reaction a third campaign. He also doesn't really disarm the "too old" criticism, even if all evidence points to him aging a lot better than either Biden or Trump so far - Biden 2020 vs Biden 2024 would give a lot of people pause even if Sanders gave the world's best debate performance at this point.

There's also the fact that Sanders has been actually pretty influential in Biden's presidency, which I think is why he came out so strongly in favour of Biden a few days ago.

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#594

Post by koolba »

andrewinardeer wrote: post #162
echelon wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ordinarily, yes. But she doesn't poll well with a lot of key demographics due to her tough on crime stance as a DA. Making her president would mean she'd be the presumptive nominee, and I think the party has more optimal choices lined up. This election will come down to four battleground states. Those are the only states and battles that matter.

I hate to say it yet I don't think she's polling well because even in 2024 I don't think America is ready to allow a woman of colour be POTUS.

[flagged]

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#595

Post by Macha »

t43562 wrote: post #415
temporarely wrote: post #389

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a "radical" idea: why not actually let the constituency of this party make the choice.

This sometimes turns out very badly - in the UK it led to "faster than a lettuce goes bad" Liz Truss for example. Conservative party members are an odd bunch. Labour also picked Jeremy Corbyn an election back. Ultimately the rest of the country didn't want to vote for him.

Notably Corbyn actually got more votes than Starmer in both elections he ran - the change is more to do with the right vote being split between the conservatives and reform, the conservatives losing the centrist vote after the clown show of the last 5 years, and a unofficial pact between Labour/LibDems prevented splitting the centrist/left vote the same way the right vote was split.

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#596

Post by more_corn »

HarHarVeryFunny wrote: post #318

Not going to happen, but I wonder how a mixed party ticket would do. Kamala (or whoever) + Mitt Romney as VP ? Has it ever been done? Would it work to attract the center/swing vote, or more likely to be a negative?

The purpose of the VP is life insurance. They must be like you but more so.

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#597

Post by proc0 »

mattnewton wrote: post #421
proc0 wrote: post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think he did. The timing is too convenient after two weeks of him reassuring people he would win over and over.

There is no message his campaign could give other than "Biden is running" and have Biden still run - any other message would damage him. Saying you are considering dropping out would be immediately pounced on, and effectively mean you'd have to drop out. So I don't think there is any signal in the messaging there except that he was probably still seriously considering running.

The timing suggests there was conflict within and Joe couldn't unite the party. Otherwise it would have happened much earlier before the primaries.

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#598

Post by jokellum »

kanbara wrote: post #577
kernal wrote: post #568

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

i’ve been seeing this comment float around today, and assuming you aren’t a russian troll or bot account, here’s why it’s flawed: there’s no _coup_ (not coop) because primary processes are not part of the constitution. candidates can step down (as biden did for the good of the country, and LBJ had done before him). there was no real choice to not pick biden, either, as the incumbent. the party will now have an open n…

Agreed.

Hasn't the number one thing anti-biden people have been saying is that he isn't fit for office due to his mental state?

Its bizarre seeing them flip to calling this a coup as if biden stepping down is suddenly an illegal/unconstitutional thing.

I consider this "concern trolling".

They said for 4 years how he's barely mentally there / can barely speak / not fit for office, and then when the Democratic party pressures him to step down, they go all surprised_pikachu_face.png.

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#600

Post by roenxi »

tiffanyh wrote: post #533

Putting politics aside … Why don’t they have an age limit on the president (or any elected office)? E.g., you must be younger than the average life expectancy (currently men: 73yo / female: 79) - while in office. https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4c6.html

Because it doesn't solve a real problem. If you try to articulate why it is that a particular old person is president and then dig in a little bit, it quickly becomes apparent that the real problem is something else. For example, in this case, the problem isn't the Biden is old. The problem is probably somewhere in how the Democrat party of the US is picking candidates.

> Putting politics aside …

I admire your optimism in saying that then putting a political question to the room.

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