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Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

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Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#371

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?

Was thinking that too and it might be a brilliant way to get the folks on the right that don't want to vote Trump but also not necessarily a dem. Also it could be a great marketing tactic to be like 'we're bringing unity back' or something to that. And theoretically no reason it couldn't happen other than both parties definitely not being on board with it.

I think the problem is that both parties have moved, the democrats shifting left and the republicans shifting right (and to put the cards on the table, I think the republicans have shifted a lot more rightward than democrats have leftwards). This leaves people pretty unwilling to go for a split the difference approach. Like if you ask people in favour of a centrist position, they're probably picturing someone in the middle of Bill Clinton and George W Bush, and thinking " I could manage with that". But for a lot of the core democratic vote, they see a Romney as the result of drawing a line down the middle and they already decided he was too right wing for them. Or similar, the republicans are worried that splitting that line down the middle ends up at Hilary, who they already didn't like. So while a lot of people express support for compromise and consquently centrism, you'll get into a lot of infighting when you try to decide what the centrist position actually is..

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#372

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?

> Not going to happen, but I wonder how a mixed party ticket would do. Kamala (or whoever) + Mitt Romney as VP ? I think it would be very hard to convince the liberal-progressive base (i.e. the core of the party) of the DNC to go for this. > Has it ever been done? Before the 12th Amendment was passed, the VP came from the opposing party[1]. This didn't work particularly well in practice, which is why nobody remembers…

But there’s no one else to vote for, they’d still vote for her with Romney as the VP. With that vs Trump as the other option, she’d still get the votes from the progressive base and potentially bring over a few more independent voters.

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#373
post #366
post #25

> It’s a miracle, folks. Donald told the truth for once. It’s the most important election of our lifetimes. And I will win it. Curiously, his tweet from just 18 hours ago seemed like he was still in the race. I wonder what changed.

Threat that they will use article 25 to get him removed as president if he didn't playball

I was waiting for the House to censure him for not stepping aside. It was pretty clear that the flood of leadership democrats and donors insisting he step aside was building.

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#374

[flagged]

Political parties aren’t democratic institutions. They are essentially private organizations who can operate however they want. It’s only been the last 50 years or so that either party has used primaries as anything more than a straw poll

The Duopoly: You can pick Pepsi or Coke

You: I want water

The Duopoly: That’s impossible and un-American

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#375

[flagged]

I think it's pretty obvious that the assassination attempt will not generate good discussion. Most online platforms are just a collection of spicy take memes about the event.

In case of Biden stepping down, there's a lot more to discuss, ranging from his legacy as a statesman to the future of the election.

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#376

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?

> Has it ever been done?

McCain/Lieberman almost happened in 2008.

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#377

Dannnnnng. I think it's definitely for the best (probably never should've come to this, reminds me of RBG). And that said I really, really liked his presidency, but, he is undeniably really old.

The problem isn't just his age, it's his decrepitude, both physical and mental. I know people in their 90s who are able to speak clearly at any hour of the day...

How many 90 year olds do you know who have jobs that are 24/7? Unlike his predecessor, Biden has taken the job seriously.

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#378

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?

Moderate Republicans who won't just vote for Trump are a dying breed. I don't think they are worth courting over just convincing young people and women to turn out to vote, purely on demographics. I could be ideologically blinded by this though.

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#379
post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Not going to happen, but I wonder how a mixed party ticket would do. Kamala (or whoever) + Mitt Romney as VP ? I think it would be very hard to convince the liberal-progressive base (i.e. the core of the party) of the DNC to go for this. > Has it ever been done? Before the 12th Amendment was passed, the VP came from the opposing party[1]. This didn't work particularly well in practice, which is why nobody remembers…

But there’s no one else to vote for, they’d still vote for her with Romney as the VP. With that vs Trump as the other option, she’d still get the votes from the progressive base and potentially bring over a few more independent voters.

The US doesn't have mandatory voting; when people are thoroughly demotivated by their party's platform but are unwilling to vote for the other party, they stay home.

(I'm not saying whether or not I would. But I think this kind of brinkmanship is a very dangerous game to play, especially in the context of a cross-party ticket.)

Re: Joe Biden stands down as Democratic candidate

#380
post #32

One of the most effective presidents since Johnson or Truman. But he did campaign on a single term. Let’s hope the Dem’s circular firing squad puts down its guns so they can quickly concentrate on winning the election with someone … probably Harris is the simplest answer.

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