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'We're close to the end': Biden world braces for the possibility that the president steps aside (www.nbcnews.com)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 106 points 4 months ago (11 children)

Plan would be simple. Resign from the Presidency for health and personal reasons. This would immediately promote Harris to the Presidency, who could inherit the campaign cash and pledged delegates, and begin to sharply campaign on continuing the Biden legacy and attacking Trump with every skill at her disposal.

Wouldn't be perfect, but it'd avoid a big, chaotic, inter-party fight with no prep time, and would preserve the sense of incumbency. Harris could even pick an actual progressive as her running mate, maybe a Katie Porter, and help shore up some support on that flank as she fights for the moderates.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 4 months ago (6 children)

Not a great nor necessary plan.

If Biden resigns as president, yes Harris immediately becomes president. That means that Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is only one heartbeat from the presidency until January 20.

There's no way for Harris to appoint and get confirmed a replacement vice president, and it would be impossible anyway because replacing the vacant VP slot requires a majority of both the House and Senate.

It doesn't when work for becoming the new nominee. Becoming President due to a vacancy has exactly nothing to do with becoming the nominee for the election for president.

Becoming President in this case is by the Constitution. It's the law, it's how our government works.

Becoming the nominee is internal political party, legally private non-governmental business.

What does work, whether or not one wants Harris as the new nominee, is this:

Biden drops out as the Democratic nominee for President, while remaining in office as President saying he must put all his energy and attention into governing these remaining months.

Then,

IF the party wants Harris. Harris aggressively campaigns to be President ELSE
Harris states she has to put all her energy and attention into helping Biden govern so will not accept a nomination.

Open convention occurs, but likely with a lot of prior discussion and alignment towards one or two best candidate.

Face saving all around

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 months ago (9 children)

Most people really don't like Harris though. Keeping Biden is the better option at this point... The Dems have just royally fucked everyone by playing this "emperor's new clothes" game with Bidens dementia.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, she's far from perfect. But, it's better than a big, chaotic, unprecedented free-for-all. Everyone was expecting 4 more years of this administration anyway.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Closed conventions weren't the worst. I'm honestly fine if the DNC were to just pick someone at the convention after backroom conversations. Def too late for there to be any sort of election. I'm personally hoping Gretchen Whitmer somehow gets the nomination

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Tbh, I think that Harris is a big ol nothingburger of a candidate. Fox news got conservatives to hate her easy enough for the crime of being a [black, woman] Democrat, but that doesn't mean anything to independents. Harris is disappointing to more libertarian minded and further left folks (like me) because she was kind of a stupidly aggressive DA, but I don't think that really bothers independents either. Harris herself had a middling debate performance in 2020, but still managed to beat the pants off Biden, who appeared DOA on the 2020 primary stage. She's never espoused any especially strong policy positions that I know of, either, besides being another authoritarian centrist.

All of this kind of wraps up into a very boring, plain vanilla candidate, which could well work to the democrats' advantage in this election cycle. Here's my opinion: Harris has several key advantages over Biden.

People are tired of feeling like we're on a cursed timeline, a normal candidate without obvious sundowner's or a serious case of fascism would likely be welcomed. Harris is about as average as they come, imo.
She can actually talk. Let's face it, the Biden of 2020 and 2012 is mostly gone, he can't communicate like he used to, and pretending otherwise isn't helping. Harris was a DA in her past life. Lawyers, and especially DAs, have to be able to communicate effectively. My guess is that if you put a little polish on her, an absolute bull of a speaker/debater will shine through. It's just that the democrats haven't really given her a chance to shine. That or the possibility that same as they've been hiding Biden's condition, they're hiding that Harris is a truly wretched communicator who has wound up here through a comedy of errors, but I'm relying on Occam's Razor here.
The one time she stood out at all in the primary debates was when she put Biden on absolute blast for his record with regard to the black community. It wasn't smooth, it was obviously rehearsed, but it still landed a haymaker. It's not a stretch to think she could do the same to Trump.
Being a nothing candidate could actually be advantageous because, I mean, how do you attack that? She has almost no real baggage compared to Biden or Trump, and it wouldn't be hard for her to just set up a smorgasbord of different policy choices without sounding like a hypocrite or flip flop.

I really wish the democrats had had the foresight to prepare for this moment by picking a much better VP, or having an open and honest primary, but we're here now and there's nothing we can do about the past. Imo, Harris is the best chance we've got of keeping the fascists out for the next four years.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, I wouldn't vote for Harris in a primary, but there's nothing egregiously wrong with her. My biggest complaints in the primary were her prosecutor-history and her unreliable policy positions. I don't even think she's a centrist, I think she doesn't really have much in the way of policy at all. A blank slate willing to tack to the center if the progressive lane is full, or tack to the left if that's where the energy is. And the law and order history is basically no worse than Biden and kind of useful when one of Trump's big issues is all his court cases.

I wish we had a primary, I wish Biden hadn't effectively chosen the next nominee, and I wish that, if that was the intention, he would have put some effort into building her up rather than dumping shit jobs on her, but if we need to do an emergency replacement, she's fine.

[–] the_frumious_bandersnatch 9 points 4 months ago

Play up her former DA status. This year the election is between Law and Lawlessness.

Harris: "I would be happy to prosecute the case against the felon in the next debate, let's just see if he shows up for his court date or if he's too busy taking bribes from his rich tech bro friends."

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago (10 children)

Most people don't like Biden. More than don't like Harris. There was some early idea that Harris was uniquely disliked that people keep propagating for some reason. She's not a superstar, she lost the primary for a reason, but she's not some especially toxic politician. At least not for anyone who would say "keeping Biden is better".

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago

She's a former prosecutor, she's not the best communicator, she isn't particularly charismatic, and she doesn't have a history of generating good legislation.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago (1 children)

If Biden could prove the debate was a one off he would have done so. His continued lack luster perform after the debate shows what the road to November looks like with him. Dems lose. Because most people who would vote blue will do so anyway. It's the 1 in 100 on the margins that will decide this thing. If Biden nominee = Trump 2nd presidency = all of the terror that comes with it, then who gives a flying fuck if Kamala right now polls even with Biden.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago (6 children)

Not my fave plan but it’ll do. Shit, I’m voting D no matter what. I will always vote against the republican traitor filth.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (5 children)

Who would be Harris’ VP pick?

[–] [email protected] 27 points 4 months ago (10 children)

She'd probably pick a straight white guy to try to defuse some bigotry concerns, but in my fantasies she picks Katie Porter.

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[–] [email protected] 66 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Once again, it offered a sharp contrast with former President Donald Trump, who, even after his brush with death on Saturday, will appear at a raucous coronation at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday night.

Lick boots harder, you complicit oligarch fucks.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 4 months ago

It's fucking gross. It has never been more clear than the past few weeks just how much these media corporations mold the narrative into what they believe will lead to the most engagement, consequences be damned. After all, what's the US government gonna do, fine then $10,000? Oh no.

One poor debate performance, and thanks to the feedback loop of the media, half the country is ready to give up the incumbent advantage and replace him at the last minute with someone who has no name recognition. Meanwhile, the other guy is not only incapable of forming a full, coherent statement without a teleprompter, he's literally told us he plans to be a dictator.

Kyle Gass gets black listed for a joke about the attempt. Meanwhile, we have companies selling life-sized decals of Biden hog-tied to put on your F-350.

And now they're complicit in this whole "Trump is calling for unity" bullshit, and reporting that he has nothing to do with Project 2025 as if there was any truth to that whatsoever.

The Trump campaign is doing everything they can to distance themselves from their own stated policy goals because they know how unpopular those goals are. And the media is reporting it as fact.

I'm so sick of the double standard. These people have been spewing violent, racist, homophobic, transphobic, genocidal rhetoric for over a decade.

But someone on the left makes a harmless joke and the media dog piles despite it being absurd. But gotta get that engagement at any cost.

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[–] [email protected] 56 points 4 months ago (4 children)

fuck man. did they leave him up this long just so we automatically vote for whoever they put up next out of sheer desperation

[–] [email protected] 52 points 4 months ago (1 children)

That definitely sounds like exactly the kind of guaranteed-to-backfire strategy the Democratic part loves!

[–] [email protected] 22 points 4 months ago

Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is a time-honored Democrat tradition.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago

They want to do a sequel to the 2016 election it seems like.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago

Left him there to take a few billion dollars of attack ads his replacement can ignore.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago

Yes

[–] [email protected] 29 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Biden world? I want off Mr bidens wild ride.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Worst theme park ever

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (4 children)

I really hope Harris can beat Trump.

[–] [email protected] 40 points 4 months ago (4 children)

As much as I hate it, I think there too much subconscious misogyny to try it. It's a recipe for failure.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 4 months ago (3 children)

And racism. Can't forget the racism!

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Well as a European, I’m going to give the US some credit: voters did elect a black, ‘possibly-Muslim’ guy with a name that sounds vaguely like a well-known terrorist. And they elected him twice.

Besides, the democrats really appear to be in a situation where they’ll vote for a proverbial ham sandwich if it stops Trump from getting the presidency.

Are there racist voters who hate women? Obviously. But it’s not like it’s an immediate disqualification.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago

I think that would work for her. There's way more minorities and centrists that would come out to vote for her because of Obama's legacy than racists that would stay home out of spite IMO. I certainly don't think she'll be anything like Obama, but one could hope.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Aren't all of the misogynists already voting for Trump? I think just being a younger woman candidate could energize the younger voting base.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 months ago

Probably not, she's got the charisma of Hillary, and two strikes (race and gender) against her. But Biden is dragging the rest of the party down with him. With Harris we probably get a Trump presidency (we have at least a fighting chance to avoid it). But with Biden we get a Trump presidency, a landslide election giving him a "mandate" and assuredly a Republican House and Senate to go along with it. Sooo worth a shot with the old switcharoo I guess.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

She can’t.

Whitmer maybe could. If she has a strong running mate.

Harris just isnt a good candidate.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago (3 children)

I think she can if she chooses a progressive vp

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (4 children)

If it's on NBC, it's likely to happen this weekend.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Is part of the reason for a big drop off in "big donor money" because of Biden's (sudden) age?

Or are the wealthy just accepting that Trump will make them way wealthier than they already are at the trivial cost of democracy that would only affect the poors anyhow?

Seems like democracy in America is already snuffed out and the wealthy rats are happily trying to get the last good spots on the dictator-ship

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Please, not another octigenarian

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Totally agree. There's no reason we can't find someone a little older even still.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago

Jimmy Carter is still alive.

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