Dan - When I encourage our volunteers at Indivisible Marin to post about Biden's accomplishments on social media or share with friends, they invariably say, "Can you send me a good graphic that I can share, or a concise top 10 list?" I've searched for such a list with some of his more recent accomplishments (new Office of Gun Prevention Violence led by Maxwell Frost, as an example) but haven't found one. We in the grassroots who want to be messengers need more easily findable and accessible tools! The DNC has the Greenfly app but the graphics and messages are so-so. The White House has great stuff they post to platforms like X or Instagram but they aren't easily "grabbable" to pull off that platform and reshare on a platform like Facebook which is an important place to reach the older double haters. Can you help send this SOS up the flagpole at the Biden/Harris campaign? Or maybe Crooked Media could create your own graphics...something with young, smart, multi-racial resonance. The most important request is a great sharable image with Biden's top ten accomplishments in under 100 words! Unlike the TV ads, which I question whether they reach many of the younger people who are disaffected from Dems, this messaging effort would be free. We're ready and waiting to post GOOD content. If we repeatedly post so-so content, our social friends will start to tune us out. But frustratingly, good stuff is very hard to find and access. Thanks for any help you can provide!! PS - I know of some of the groups you have cited who develop content..but the B/H campaign is spending lots of money on very professional imagery...we need to get our hands on it easily, in a way the average volunteer can do independently..ie not a bunch of separate keystrokes or cut and pastes etc. Thanks, again!
On Facebook, the Democratic Party Facebook page has memes/graphics & videos to share. I have them in my Favorites. Also CAP Action does good messaging and easily shareable on Facebook. DemcastUSA is good as well. For anyone on Instagram or Twitter, I recommend following Gail Waldby who shares pertinent memes/graphics from several Dem sources as well.
I so appreciate the suggestions for alternatives. There are many good groups about there supplying good content. However, I still feel strongly (based on my career in consumer marketing) that the repetition of the campaign imagery and its look and feel as broadly as possible will be a very important extension of the campaign's paid advertising strategy. More impressions, more eyeballs, with no added expense.
All of those groups directly share Biden/DNC content. I know because I’ve been a social media ambassador on Greenfly & it’s the same content. They’re currently migrating to Reach for a more grassroots campaign based on personal connections.
Use Simon Rosenberg's Hopium Chronicles. This is also on Substack.
I think Simon does the BEST job around of succinctly laying the graphics for Biden's amazing accomplishments. If you have trouble finding his site, write me at mweingrod@china-strategies.com and I'll help you connect.
I LOVE Simon and read his substack daily. But his graphics are not of the marketing variety that I am talking about. To catch the attention of the disengaged, plus the double haters, we need images that have emotional and aesthetic resonance. The think the BH campaign is doing a great job there.
Hi Merrill - I appreciate your reaching out but don't think I have the expertise to help. I'm not plugged in at all to the situation in FL, or with the demographics you mention. Basically, I'm an old white lady from CA, lol! But this is a worthy aim for sure. Perhaps after you all meet, if you have any questions of a general marketing nature, I'd be happy to chat.
I agree that ASO provides great content on Democratic messaging overall. But for messaging on Biden, I think we want to use the content from the campaign. Repetition is the mantra to successful marketing, so as much as possible we want to push out content with the exact same "look and feel" as the campaign. Plus the campaign spends tons of money to market test every aspect of their messaging via focus groups etc, so it is in a class by itself. I think the Comms Teams for both the White House and the Biden/Harris campaign are turning out superb work, so our best role is to amplify the hell out of it! (They just need to make it easier for us to do so. 🙏 🤞)
Does no one pay attention to anything but their own narrow world? Some of my friends and family who believe in democracy as we wish it to be are shutting down rather than engaging. That, in my opinion, is very dangerous. It may be depressing and uncomfortable, but people better start paying attention or we will have a convicted felon in the White House in 2024.
While we will need to emphasize the president’s achievements, one major thing missing from this is the absolute threat to democracy of a second Trump term. This IS NOT an ordinary election. I fully blame the media. I have seen lots of touting from the admin on social media and Joe’s speeches and trips around the country. So I don’t want to hear they he has terrible messaging. I agree with Tom Bonier’s assessment of this poll. It’s “good” these so-called double haters can be turned but what voters did they poll? No one I know-- and I live in PA.
Thanks to you and to Simon Rosenberg (who was even quicker out with the anti-panic post than you!). No coincidence that you are messaging guys. The Democratic penchant for panic is going to doom us long before these polls.
What is interesting to me about these is that these polls read like a referendum on Biden and the times he is in. Trump seems to be almost like an unknown challenger -- these look like Midterm results, not General election results. I think that is a consequence of the fact that it is a year out and there is no real campaign yet and that, unless you are a court nerd, Trump hasn’t been in the headlines much lately.
I feel pretty sure that if we can get to a choice between real Biden and real Trump, these numbers will look better. The generic Dem does much better. It’s just a matter of riding out the panic and not jumping over a cliff and nominating Dean Phillips in a moment of blind hysteria.
Be strong, Democrats. Obama was losing at this point in his re-elect too. Hang in there, hold the course, don’t panic and work your fucking asses off
Oh hell yeah - this news media apparatus just seems unwilling or unable ( likely both) to emphasis the sheer threat of Trump properly, or to not shut the fuck up about Biden's age. Many of their headlines seem like little more than click bait. I really wish a few reporters would band together to say enough !!!
I hear you and I’m disappointed ☹️ in the NYT. I’ve been reading it for years... they want to be fair and balanced btw, but it’s BS. I’m so glad I subscribed to Dan...... he’s super smart👍
"Fair & balanced" is a slogan - and it's bullsh**. Here's why.
Let's take a five-car vehicular accident, caused by a self-professed right-wing extremist - effectively a terrorist.
If I'm going to be "balanced" I need to cover the incident from the angle of all of those who were involved in the accident, as well as the public affected by it, and the first responders to it. That's truly honestly balanced.
But that's not the story. That's not fairly covering the story - in other words, being true to the story.
The truth of the story could be told in the first line, if written properly: "A right-wing terrorist caused a major five vehicle accident in [location], apparently with the intent to cause chaos and harm."
But you cannot tell the story in a concise way that is BOTH fair (that is to say, honest) AND balanced.
There are many times when balance is important.
However, in an environment flooded with disinformation, lies, and propaganda, the truth outweighs balance by far. Any balance needed needs to fit within the truth being told.
And remember - if a particular piece of information is suddenly catching fire & catching hell? It's probably bullsh**. We've all been online for most of the past 30 years. We know clickbait when we see it.
This is a good poll. I don’t like the results but the poll is fine. I agree the NYT takes “objectivity” in a toxic direction, but the poll is a reputable one and the analysis is sound. And Dan doesn’t say otherwise.
As always Dan thank you for the soothing analysis. Honestly if I'd seen these polls alone without the newsletter I probably would've lost it and there's an excellent chance they would've ruined my day. Recently i was listening to an interview Mike Podhorzer ( a director/pollster Dan might might be familiar with ) he commented how no one should be paying to many attention to polls ( nor look to them for comfort / reassurance - a habit I'm working damn hard to break ). As for Judith's comment about people shutting down it's hard not to - especially when the "nightmare" is threatening to return. But I'm guessing as long as the GOP is authoritarian ( with or without Trump) every election will be a high stakes one. I may in fact need to go back therapy.
I've been texting with a group focusing on GOTV among young voters for the PA election this coming Tuesday. The number of folks responding that they are not voting for Dems because of Gaza is striking. I hope there is good data from PA, VA, and OH to see how big of an impact this has on young voter turnout.
Thanks, Dan. As always, substituting your analysis for the scare headline is reassuring that what’s broken cam be fixed by hard work.
This isn’t pretty, but I seem to remember that Obama’s polls at a similar time in 2012 looked grim for his re-election. So people got to work.
Not only can each of us reach out to any “double haters” in our immediate personal lives, but anyone on social media can easily reach multiples of that number, a tool not available to you in 2012. And there are so many get out the vote orgs now that there’s no excuse for failing to involve oneself.
Long past time to go on the attack against hack media outlets & hack pollsters.
As someone who has worked in media for nearly 30 years, I trust very little the NYTimes has to say these days, especially about U.S. politics. And I tell everyone I know just that.
Polls this far out mean very little. But the media has made it clear - they are going to stand *AGAINST* Biden & Democrats, in part because some of them are angry that Biden & Dems haven't been the fountain of content & stories the Trump monsters were.
"How dare Biden & Democrats try to govern like adults! Don't they know we need clicks & attention?!"
So, like I've said before, go after the careers of those in media attacking Biden & Dems. Do whatever it takes, other than physically harming them. Cut their legs out from under them, and make sure they know why they're losing what they care about. Make them afraid to push crap like what the NYTimes did.
And if you can harm the bottom line of news organizations choosing clickbait over real journalism, all the better.
Any media org nominally producing news that chooses excitement over informing should not be allowed to call itself news.
Dan - a question and a comment. Question: who were the 3662 people who answered their phone for this poll? Under methodology, there is no breakdown by age, sex or political affiliation. Comment: the NYT has changed A LOT in the past years. Once a reliable source of information, it has been skewing to the right for quite some time now. Recall the headline (above the fold) when Trump was indicted for absconding with classified documents; “Momentous Scene in Miami as Trump Pleads Not Guilty.” Of all the headlines, this is what the NYT ran with.
Final thought: not that we shouldn’t all be paying attention and working hard to make sure Biden is elected and Donald Trump is NOT elected but remember 2022 and the RED WAVE that every outlet and every poll was predicting. And remember, THERE WAS NO RED WAVE.
We’re a year out. We all need to focus and get to work!!!
“In summary, the “Double Haters” are slightly more Republican, male, and college-educated than the overall electorate. This group also encompasses a large number of people who voted for Trump in 2016 but flipped to Biden in 2020.”
So, Joe Rogan fans!
I think reaching this group with Biden’s accomplishments is going to be a lot harder than simply emphasizing the dangers of a second Trump candidacy. People like this seem to define themselves by what they’re against rather than actively believing IN something.
You know, the more I think about it, the more dumbfounded I am that Biden doesn’t step down. Does he honestly think nobody else in the party could be a better leader? Does he truly think that at 80 he is still top of his game? It has to be ego. Such a terrible flaw.
I feel that I need to escape into "fantasy land" for a little while after this. Is there ANY chance that Biden would recognise that a younger candidate might save us from Trump. My fantasy: top Dems huddle with best potential candidates and hold a primary of ONLY candidates we know have appeal. Feels like we are risking too much with Biden, even though he has proven a far better president than many expected.
Time to get out of fantasy land: there is ZERO chance that "a younger candidate" could "save us from Trump" -- unless you can think of a particular "younger candidate" who already has national name recognition among people who aren't political junkies. P.S. Notice how Republicans aren't pushing for alternative candidates on the basis of Trump's age, even though Trump, along with a demonstrated list of other liabilities, is (1) maybe 3 years younger than President Biden, and (2) showing signs of cognitive decline from a baseline that wasn't very high to start with.
Please read the post I was responding to: that's where "fantasy land" came from. P.S. Those individuals have name recognition among people with a high interest in political news. Beyond that? Not so much.
I agree with you, and I really don’t have a clue as to how anyone thinks the current ticket gets replaced with new candidates. Especially since everyone suitable for that role has passed on the opportunity. I agree with you that there’s a degree of fantasy involved. I don’t even play fantasy football; playing fantasy Dem ticket seems a bit fruitless.
What country do you live in? Seriously. Harris identifies as Black/a person of color, and she is also female, both serious liabilities in a country whose electorate still seems to see "presidential" as by definition white and male. Plus she's gotten a lot of bad press for mostly stupid reasons -- unfortunately that's the kind of stuff that sticks in the minds of non-politico types.
Buttigieg -- great guy, IMO, and a presidential contender in maybe 2032, but add "straight" to the presidential criteria listed above. Also Indiana is not a great home base for a liberal/progressive presidential candidate.
Newsom -- note, there's no "e" at the end of the guy's name -- is the classic white guy liberal that many of us are conditioned to think of as presidential, but he doesn't have anything like Biden's national experience, and although California has lots of electoral votes, "California" is a liability in many places. IOW, I'm not seeing a compelling reason to trade in the experienced white guy liberal who's done a pretty amazing job for a less experienced white guy liberal who's done an OK job in California.
Some of the deadlines for candidates filing to get on the Presidential primary ballot for individual states for 2024 have already passed. So it does seem to be “fantasy politics” to be advocating for “younger” candidates at this juncture.
I support this. We are told that he is our only chance even while he continues to tank. Where is the line we cross to finally consider an alternative? And will we cross it too late?
Gretchen Whitmer! Obama wasn't very well known when he came on the scene. What if Nicki Haley manages to squeak thru over Trump. So we've got Biden against her rather than Whitmer or Harris?
Knocking on doors in Virginia, I spoke with two people, a woman from Costa Rico and a man from Peru, both citizens, both living in different districts. Clearly, they were listening to the same media. Their concerns: legalized marijuana that children were using and coming to school stoned and the usual "I came here legally."
What is the best message for them? It's the first time I have heard the anti legal marijuana issue
Very interesting info about the legalizing marijuana message. Thanks for sharing that. I’ve not seen this prevalently online but it makes sense coming from Virginia during this really important election cycle there. Seems like it’s another aspect of the “protect the children” right wing messaging. Completely erroneous but apparently still effective with ppl who can’t bother to Google anything yet vote based on fear.
As Nancy Pelosi says... don't agonize... organize! Tried to explain to someone yesterday about the massive movement that got Biden elected... was all about turnout. I can barely move people in my world off the sidelines right now because things are 'good'. The promise of good vs the threat of evil was palpable in 2020.
Dan - When I encourage our volunteers at Indivisible Marin to post about Biden's accomplishments on social media or share with friends, they invariably say, "Can you send me a good graphic that I can share, or a concise top 10 list?" I've searched for such a list with some of his more recent accomplishments (new Office of Gun Prevention Violence led by Maxwell Frost, as an example) but haven't found one. We in the grassroots who want to be messengers need more easily findable and accessible tools! The DNC has the Greenfly app but the graphics and messages are so-so. The White House has great stuff they post to platforms like X or Instagram but they aren't easily "grabbable" to pull off that platform and reshare on a platform like Facebook which is an important place to reach the older double haters. Can you help send this SOS up the flagpole at the Biden/Harris campaign? Or maybe Crooked Media could create your own graphics...something with young, smart, multi-racial resonance. The most important request is a great sharable image with Biden's top ten accomplishments in under 100 words! Unlike the TV ads, which I question whether they reach many of the younger people who are disaffected from Dems, this messaging effort would be free. We're ready and waiting to post GOOD content. If we repeatedly post so-so content, our social friends will start to tune us out. But frustratingly, good stuff is very hard to find and access. Thanks for any help you can provide!! PS - I know of some of the groups you have cited who develop content..but the B/H campaign is spending lots of money on very professional imagery...we need to get our hands on it easily, in a way the average volunteer can do independently..ie not a bunch of separate keystrokes or cut and pastes etc. Thanks, again!
On Facebook, the Democratic Party Facebook page has memes/graphics & videos to share. I have them in my Favorites. Also CAP Action does good messaging and easily shareable on Facebook. DemcastUSA is good as well. For anyone on Instagram or Twitter, I recommend following Gail Waldby who shares pertinent memes/graphics from several Dem sources as well.
I so appreciate the suggestions for alternatives. There are many good groups about there supplying good content. However, I still feel strongly (based on my career in consumer marketing) that the repetition of the campaign imagery and its look and feel as broadly as possible will be a very important extension of the campaign's paid advertising strategy. More impressions, more eyeballs, with no added expense.
All of those groups directly share Biden/DNC content. I know because I’ve been a social media ambassador on Greenfly & it’s the same content. They’re currently migrating to Reach for a more grassroots campaign based on personal connections.
THIS!! Please!
Use Simon Rosenberg's Hopium Chronicles. This is also on Substack.
I think Simon does the BEST job around of succinctly laying the graphics for Biden's amazing accomplishments. If you have trouble finding his site, write me at mweingrod@china-strategies.com and I'll help you connect.
I LOVE Simon and read his substack daily. But his graphics are not of the marketing variety that I am talking about. To catch the attention of the disengaged, plus the double haters, we need images that have emotional and aesthetic resonance. The think the BH campaign is doing a great job there.
Hey Susan,
I'm working with several Florida Democratic party leaders who are hyper focused on building out the youth vote and the Black vote in Florida.
If you have time tomorrow morning, I'd love to talk to you about the kind of direct action you think is most effective.
Best
Merrill Weingrod
Hi Merrill - I appreciate your reaching out but don't think I have the expertise to help. I'm not plugged in at all to the situation in FL, or with the demographics you mention. Basically, I'm an old white lady from CA, lol! But this is a worthy aim for sure. Perhaps after you all meet, if you have any questions of a general marketing nature, I'd be happy to chat.
Recommend the Movement Briefings from ASO Communications. They have tool kits designed for social media.
I agree that ASO provides great content on Democratic messaging overall. But for messaging on Biden, I think we want to use the content from the campaign. Repetition is the mantra to successful marketing, so as much as possible we want to push out content with the exact same "look and feel" as the campaign. Plus the campaign spends tons of money to market test every aspect of their messaging via focus groups etc, so it is in a class by itself. I think the Comms Teams for both the White House and the Biden/Harris campaign are turning out superb work, so our best role is to amplify the hell out of it! (They just need to make it easier for us to do so. 🙏 🤞)
Insightful and sensible. And these days of social media, we all have the ability to amplify to our social media circles.
Does no one pay attention to anything but their own narrow world? Some of my friends and family who believe in democracy as we wish it to be are shutting down rather than engaging. That, in my opinion, is very dangerous. It may be depressing and uncomfortable, but people better start paying attention or we will have a convicted felon in the White House in 2024.
While we will need to emphasize the president’s achievements, one major thing missing from this is the absolute threat to democracy of a second Trump term. This IS NOT an ordinary election. I fully blame the media. I have seen lots of touting from the admin on social media and Joe’s speeches and trips around the country. So I don’t want to hear they he has terrible messaging. I agree with Tom Bonier’s assessment of this poll. It’s “good” these so-called double haters can be turned but what voters did they poll? No one I know-- and I live in PA.
Thanks to you and to Simon Rosenberg (who was even quicker out with the anti-panic post than you!). No coincidence that you are messaging guys. The Democratic penchant for panic is going to doom us long before these polls.
What is interesting to me about these is that these polls read like a referendum on Biden and the times he is in. Trump seems to be almost like an unknown challenger -- these look like Midterm results, not General election results. I think that is a consequence of the fact that it is a year out and there is no real campaign yet and that, unless you are a court nerd, Trump hasn’t been in the headlines much lately.
I feel pretty sure that if we can get to a choice between real Biden and real Trump, these numbers will look better. The generic Dem does much better. It’s just a matter of riding out the panic and not jumping over a cliff and nominating Dean Phillips in a moment of blind hysteria.
Be strong, Democrats. Obama was losing at this point in his re-elect too. Hang in there, hold the course, don’t panic and work your fucking asses off
Thanks Dan I knew you would pull me back down to earth. NYT seems to relish writing these things. It really bugs me.
Oh hell yeah - this news media apparatus just seems unwilling or unable ( likely both) to emphasis the sheer threat of Trump properly, or to not shut the fuck up about Biden's age. Many of their headlines seem like little more than click bait. I really wish a few reporters would band together to say enough !!!
That, in fact, is EXACTLY what the NYTimes is doing these days.
They don't care about facts nearly as much any more. They're trolling people for the attention. Don't give it to them.
In fact, I would tend to tell people to distrust anything the NYTimes says about politics. Trash them up & down.
I hear you and I’m disappointed ☹️ in the NYT. I’ve been reading it for years... they want to be fair and balanced btw, but it’s BS. I’m so glad I subscribed to Dan...... he’s super smart👍
"Fair & balanced" is a slogan - and it's bullsh**. Here's why.
Let's take a five-car vehicular accident, caused by a self-professed right-wing extremist - effectively a terrorist.
If I'm going to be "balanced" I need to cover the incident from the angle of all of those who were involved in the accident, as well as the public affected by it, and the first responders to it. That's truly honestly balanced.
But that's not the story. That's not fairly covering the story - in other words, being true to the story.
The truth of the story could be told in the first line, if written properly: "A right-wing terrorist caused a major five vehicle accident in [location], apparently with the intent to cause chaos and harm."
But you cannot tell the story in a concise way that is BOTH fair (that is to say, honest) AND balanced.
There are many times when balance is important.
However, in an environment flooded with disinformation, lies, and propaganda, the truth outweighs balance by far. Any balance needed needs to fit within the truth being told.
And remember - if a particular piece of information is suddenly catching fire & catching hell? It's probably bullsh**. We've all been online for most of the past 30 years. We know clickbait when we see it.
That NYTimes piece is just that.
This is a good poll. I don’t like the results but the poll is fine. I agree the NYT takes “objectivity” in a toxic direction, but the poll is a reputable one and the analysis is sound. And Dan doesn’t say otherwise.
We disagree. The poll is not fine. Clearly we have nothing else to discuss.
As always Dan thank you for the soothing analysis. Honestly if I'd seen these polls alone without the newsletter I probably would've lost it and there's an excellent chance they would've ruined my day. Recently i was listening to an interview Mike Podhorzer ( a director/pollster Dan might might be familiar with ) he commented how no one should be paying to many attention to polls ( nor look to them for comfort / reassurance - a habit I'm working damn hard to break ). As for Judith's comment about people shutting down it's hard not to - especially when the "nightmare" is threatening to return. But I'm guessing as long as the GOP is authoritarian ( with or without Trump) every election will be a high stakes one. I may in fact need to go back therapy.
I’m curious how much damage Biden’s stance on Gaza will cause with the liberal base. Objectors are a sizable contingent and growing larger…
I've been texting with a group focusing on GOTV among young voters for the PA election this coming Tuesday. The number of folks responding that they are not voting for Dems because of Gaza is striking. I hope there is good data from PA, VA, and OH to see how big of an impact this has on young voter turnout.
It has indeed got complicated.
It definitely has me questioning what my vote will be next year.
Thanks, Dan. As always, substituting your analysis for the scare headline is reassuring that what’s broken cam be fixed by hard work.
This isn’t pretty, but I seem to remember that Obama’s polls at a similar time in 2012 looked grim for his re-election. So people got to work.
Not only can each of us reach out to any “double haters” in our immediate personal lives, but anyone on social media can easily reach multiples of that number, a tool not available to you in 2012. And there are so many get out the vote orgs now that there’s no excuse for failing to involve oneself.
Long past time to go on the attack against hack media outlets & hack pollsters.
As someone who has worked in media for nearly 30 years, I trust very little the NYTimes has to say these days, especially about U.S. politics. And I tell everyone I know just that.
Polls this far out mean very little. But the media has made it clear - they are going to stand *AGAINST* Biden & Democrats, in part because some of them are angry that Biden & Dems haven't been the fountain of content & stories the Trump monsters were.
"How dare Biden & Democrats try to govern like adults! Don't they know we need clicks & attention?!"
So, like I've said before, go after the careers of those in media attacking Biden & Dems. Do whatever it takes, other than physically harming them. Cut their legs out from under them, and make sure they know why they're losing what they care about. Make them afraid to push crap like what the NYTimes did.
And if you can harm the bottom line of news organizations choosing clickbait over real journalism, all the better.
Any media org nominally producing news that chooses excitement over informing should not be allowed to call itself news.
Absolutely goddamn right
Dan - a question and a comment. Question: who were the 3662 people who answered their phone for this poll? Under methodology, there is no breakdown by age, sex or political affiliation. Comment: the NYT has changed A LOT in the past years. Once a reliable source of information, it has been skewing to the right for quite some time now. Recall the headline (above the fold) when Trump was indicted for absconding with classified documents; “Momentous Scene in Miami as Trump Pleads Not Guilty.” Of all the headlines, this is what the NYT ran with.
Final thought: not that we shouldn’t all be paying attention and working hard to make sure Biden is elected and Donald Trump is NOT elected but remember 2022 and the RED WAVE that every outlet and every poll was predicting. And remember, THERE WAS NO RED WAVE.
We’re a year out. We all need to focus and get to work!!!
“In summary, the “Double Haters” are slightly more Republican, male, and college-educated than the overall electorate. This group also encompasses a large number of people who voted for Trump in 2016 but flipped to Biden in 2020.”
So, Joe Rogan fans!
I think reaching this group with Biden’s accomplishments is going to be a lot harder than simply emphasizing the dangers of a second Trump candidacy. People like this seem to define themselves by what they’re against rather than actively believing IN something.
Great analysis, Dan thank you so much
You know, the more I think about it, the more dumbfounded I am that Biden doesn’t step down. Does he honestly think nobody else in the party could be a better leader? Does he truly think that at 80 he is still top of his game? It has to be ego. Such a terrible flaw.
I feel that I need to escape into "fantasy land" for a little while after this. Is there ANY chance that Biden would recognise that a younger candidate might save us from Trump. My fantasy: top Dems huddle with best potential candidates and hold a primary of ONLY candidates we know have appeal. Feels like we are risking too much with Biden, even though he has proven a far better president than many expected.
Time to get out of fantasy land: there is ZERO chance that "a younger candidate" could "save us from Trump" -- unless you can think of a particular "younger candidate" who already has national name recognition among people who aren't political junkies. P.S. Notice how Republicans aren't pushing for alternative candidates on the basis of Trump's age, even though Trump, along with a demonstrated list of other liabilities, is (1) maybe 3 years younger than President Biden, and (2) showing signs of cognitive decline from a baseline that wasn't very high to start with.
Please read the post I was responding to: that's where "fantasy land" came from. P.S. Those individuals have name recognition among people with a high interest in political news. Beyond that? Not so much.
I agree with you, and I really don’t have a clue as to how anyone thinks the current ticket gets replaced with new candidates. Especially since everyone suitable for that role has passed on the opportunity. I agree with you that there’s a degree of fantasy involved. I don’t even play fantasy football; playing fantasy Dem ticket seems a bit fruitless.
I'm a longtime fantasy (and science fiction) fan, but I try hard to keep this separate from real-world politics. ;-)
What country do you live in? Seriously. Harris identifies as Black/a person of color, and she is also female, both serious liabilities in a country whose electorate still seems to see "presidential" as by definition white and male. Plus she's gotten a lot of bad press for mostly stupid reasons -- unfortunately that's the kind of stuff that sticks in the minds of non-politico types.
Buttigieg -- great guy, IMO, and a presidential contender in maybe 2032, but add "straight" to the presidential criteria listed above. Also Indiana is not a great home base for a liberal/progressive presidential candidate.
Newsom -- note, there's no "e" at the end of the guy's name -- is the classic white guy liberal that many of us are conditioned to think of as presidential, but he doesn't have anything like Biden's national experience, and although California has lots of electoral votes, "California" is a liability in many places. IOW, I'm not seeing a compelling reason to trade in the experienced white guy liberal who's done a pretty amazing job for a less experienced white guy liberal who's done an OK job in California.
Some of the deadlines for candidates filing to get on the Presidential primary ballot for individual states for 2024 have already passed. So it does seem to be “fantasy politics” to be advocating for “younger” candidates at this juncture.
I support this. We are told that he is our only chance even while he continues to tank. Where is the line we cross to finally consider an alternative? And will we cross it too late?
Gretchen Whitmer! Obama wasn't very well known when he came on the scene. What if Nicki Haley manages to squeak thru over Trump. So we've got Biden against her rather than Whitmer or Harris?
Knocking on doors in Virginia, I spoke with two people, a woman from Costa Rico and a man from Peru, both citizens, both living in different districts. Clearly, they were listening to the same media. Their concerns: legalized marijuana that children were using and coming to school stoned and the usual "I came here legally."
What is the best message for them? It's the first time I have heard the anti legal marijuana issue
Very interesting info about the legalizing marijuana message. Thanks for sharing that. I’ve not seen this prevalently online but it makes sense coming from Virginia during this really important election cycle there. Seems like it’s another aspect of the “protect the children” right wing messaging. Completely erroneous but apparently still effective with ppl who can’t bother to Google anything yet vote based on fear.
As Nancy Pelosi says... don't agonize... organize! Tried to explain to someone yesterday about the massive movement that got Biden elected... was all about turnout. I can barely move people in my world off the sidelines right now because things are 'good'. The promise of good vs the threat of evil was palpable in 2020.