• Diotima
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    8410 months ago

    Probably the most relevant line in the entire article:

    a series of polls have suggested Biden will narrowly beat Trump in the November vote. But with eight months to go, and the polls so tight, this could change and a number of polls have also indicated that Trump will win the election.

    Whether Biden wins or loses is going to come down to how well he engages people in key states. Outside of the “blue no matter who” crowd, people have decidedly mixed feelings about voting for a candidate whose strongest argument is that he isn’t Trump. Everything from events in the weeks leading up to the election to the weather (which affects Dems more than Reps) will matter, so rather than leaning on polls that suggest a victory… it might be wise to end those behaviors and policies that have human rights advocates concerned.

    • @SparrowRanjitScaur
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      3010 months ago

      I don’t get this point. I feel like Biden’s done a great job as president so far. He’s had a lot of tough issues to deal with as president and so far he’s handled everything really well.

      • @grue
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        1510 months ago

        it might be wise to end those behaviors and policies that have human rights advocates concerned.

        I don’t get this point.

        Don’t play stupid; you know exactly what the grandparent commenter is talking about.

      • @[email protected]
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        1410 months ago

        He’s done an OK job for a run of the mill president during run of the mill times, but in my opinion he has failed to rise to the big threats of today, especially RAPIDLY encroaching fascism, climate change, and nearly catastrophic wealth inequality.

        • @CatfishSushi
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          2610 months ago

          So our choice is between run-of-the-mill president or a guy who says he wants to a dictator, violently tried to overturn the last election, had fake electors etc. etc.

          I’m not excited about Biden but the choice seems to be pretty straightforward and I’ll be SURE to get to the polls.

          • @[email protected]
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            010 months ago

            I’m on board with voting for him as a means of harm reduction but I’m also not gonna pretend he’s been great like a lot of blue maga liberals claim.

            • @[email protected]
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              110 months ago

              Lol the downvotes. I said I’m voting for the guy, but y’all are so mad that I’m not going to dickride him as well.

              • @[email protected]
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                210 months ago

                Meh, I upvoted you. I personally think he’s been about as good a president as someone could hope for, which is a pretty fucking low bar, but I still voted uncommitted in my primary yesterday even though I would crawl over broken glass to vote against Trump in November. I don’t blame anybody who holds their nose and votes as a pure harm reduction measure.

          • @go_go_gadget
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            -110 months ago

            I’m not excited about Biden but the choice seems to be pretty straightforward and I’ll be SURE to get to the polls.

            I will be getting to the polls as well but it won’t be to reward Moderates for picking a shit candidate and threatening not to back him every time there’s an opportunity for him to compromise with leftists and progressives.

              • @go_go_gadget
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                010 months ago

                When moderates are ready to compromise I’ll be here. We’ve done our part, it’s time for them to hold up their end of the bargain.

        • @Eatspancakes84
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          610 months ago

          The president has little power to address climate change/wealth inequality on his own. That all relates to the budget and is firmly in control of congress. Replace Manchin/Sinema with two progressive senators and you would have the BBB bill, which would have addressed both these concerns.

          With respect to encroaching racism I am just not sure what any politician can do about it. Ideally, you would like to change the mind of hardcore Republicans, but it’s not like they are listening.

          • @go_go_gadget
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            -810 months ago

            Democrats could have used the reconciliation bill in order to pass the BBB but they didn’t.

            Tells me all I need to know about establishment Democrats: they’re not on my side.

            • @Eatspancakes84
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              810 months ago

              What part about Manchin/Sinema is difficult to understand here? How does that relate to Biden who pushed the bill?

              • @go_go_gadget
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                10 months ago

                Manchin/Sinema could not have stopped Democrats from using the reconciliation bill as a bargaining chip to pass the BBB. It was not called for by Pelosi, Biden or any establishment Democrat for one simple reason: They didn’t care and expected voters to just show up anyway.

                • @Eatspancakes84
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                  710 months ago

                  What are you talking about? They needed 50 votes in the Senate for a reconciliation vote which they did not have, because of the aforementioned senators. The bill was passed by the house (of which Pelosi was Speaker at the time). There was a lot of negotiation between the White House and the two senators to get the bill to 50 in the Senate. None of what you are saying is correct!

              • @[email protected]
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                -710 months ago

                I’m relatively unconvinced by laying all the blame on them. The president is the leader of his party and has the massive power of the bully pulpit to help bring them into line. He was unable or unwilling to do that.

                • Natanael
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                  10 months ago

                  And if he had used that “power” then he’d be called a bully, etc, (including by people who don’t give a shit when R does it)

                • @[email protected]
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                  210 months ago

                  Question: what party is Sinema in now?

                  It’s pretty evident now Sinema could not be bullied if she was willing to immolate her career over even the soft demands made of her.

      • @cybersandwich
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        910 months ago

        Most underrated President of all time. (Best president of my time at least).

        I will donate the closer it gets and to the key races.

      • GladiusB
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        410 months ago

        I agree but not everyone votes because of these things. It’s 8 months away. Lots of stuff can come out from today until then to change a voter’s mind. They could literally vote for whatever they feel matters.

        • @go_go_gadget
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          010 months ago

          Lots of stuff can come out from today until then to change a voter’s mind.

          Yes lots of stuff could but we all know Biden won’t do those things. He’s demonstrated zero regard for the opinions of people who helped him get elected in the 2020 general.

      • Diotima
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        -610 months ago

        Objectively, he has been a mediocre president whose most impressive victories have stemmed from the fact that the economy was already recovering from a worldwide pandemic. His handling of the withdrawl from Afghanistan was an appalling travesty that got countless innocents killed, his two-faced positions on Gaza (lamenting the human rights abuses while cutting aid and supplying weapons,) the fact that the interest rate for home loans has skyrocketed in an already difficult to afford housing market, and quite honestly, his racist and homophobic past make him difficult to swallow.

    • @Thirdborne
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      2310 months ago

      It’s going to depend on the severity of several pending scandals and what the Saudis decide to do with oil prices between now and November. Democrats should have an astronomical campaign warchest while the GOP is blowing their wad on the candidate’s legal bills. The Democrats game to lose and that’s their expertise.

    • @Fedizen
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      410 months ago

      it strikes me that congress might have authority under the 14th amendment to ban winner-take-all apportionment of electors and gerrymandering

      • @Cryophilia
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        710 months ago

        It honestly doesn’t matter what Congress has the authority to do at this point. They lack the capacity. Once we get a solid Dem majority, then we can start exploring what Congress can do.

        • @go_go_gadget
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          -610 months ago

          Once we get a solid Dem majority

          We had that in 2008 for four years. Turns out they can’t do much at all.

          • @Cryophilia
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            810 months ago

            No we didn’t. We had it for a few months, and we got the greatest expansion of health insurance in modern history.

            • @go_go_gadget
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              -210 months ago

              Are you confusing the words “majority” and “supermajority”? Because Democrats did have a solid majority for four years. Democrats had a supermajority for a few months.