The Biden Presidency - 2020

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

Even if Biden always planned to be President for one term, it would be dumb to make that clear and significantly weaken his position.

And the numbers from that poll have to be taken with a grain of salt as that 33% approval number is way out of line with other numbers. Even Rasmussen, which has consistently had the most R-leaning numbers on Biden's approval, has him 4 points higher at 37.

37% is still really bad too. Especially when you consider there haven't been any real major scandals, just a constant stream of incompetence.

And how old are those other polls? I do feel like things are going to shift more with the recent Supreme Court rulings and mass shootings.

[larrymcg421]

If Harris gets the nomination, it's because she's the incumbent VP, not because "Dems are dumb."

Newsom would be a ridiculously bad candidate. Pritzker has no national profile and is a billionaire. I love Kelly, but he's ideologically the same as Joe, so not sure why some of the anti-Biden faction loves him.

[RainMaker]

The party does have a history of putting its thumbs on the scale during primaries. As well as making it difficult for newcomers to rise through the ranks.

Don't know too much about Newsom's skeletons, but imagine they can't possibly be worse than Trump's. He's also been one of the few Democrats with a spine over the past year. Has good political instincts and isn't 80 years old.

I think Pritzker's lack of a national profile in the party is a big positive. That party has so much stink on it that it desperately needs an outsider. The billionaire thing doesn't matter much when running against another billionaire. He also has great political instincts, has really smart people helping him, and is pretty likable. Also been one of the few Democrats with a spine over the past couple years.

Kelly would be a narrative candidate. Pretty tough not to like him or attack him in any way. I don't think he wants to run and the party doesn't seem interested in elevating him because they are incredibly dumb.

[GrantDawg]

Mark Cuban?

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[GrantDawg]

Who I would really, really love to see: Katie Porter

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[Lathum]

She has said several times she won’t, but Michelle Obama would be fascinating and I would love to see the heads explode if she won. Which I think she would.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Who I would really, really love to see: Katie Porter

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Needs a few years to build a national profile but she's a potential rising star

SI

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Mark Cuban?

Is he even a Democrat? Kind of seems like a libertarian who sides with Democrats of late because of Trump.

[thesloppy]

I still like Cory Booker

[PilotMan]

Yep, me too. I love out Pete handles himself in the media. Dude is smart and just on it every day.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

I still like Cory Booker

Same, but he doesn't seem to know how to make it work on a national stage. Also, he wouldn't run against Harris.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Lathum

She has said several times she won’t, but Michelle Obama would be fascinating and I would love to see the heads explode if she won. Which I think she would.

I think she would win the Dem nomination. Not sure she would win the Presidency though.

If she was serious, position herself as VP in 2024 or maybe ask Joe for a visible cabinet position (HHS, HUD?) in 2022 where she has time to do something.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Yep, me too. I love out Pete handles himself in the media. Dude is smart and just on it every day.

Mayor Pete is definitely a good speaker. But only if we see good results from the Infrastructure/Transportation $ he is managing and so far, I've not read much.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Yep, me too. I love out Pete handles himself in the media. Dude is smart and just on it every day.

I do really like Pete. Dems can't worry about trying to find the perfect candidate. No one they run will have more red flags and issues than Trump. For 2020 I thought having someone that would punch back at Trump was overrated, but I think most dem voters are tired of seeing their representatives roll over.

[RainMaker]

Pete is currently bombing spectacularly as the head of DoT. Although in his defense, he was woefully unqualified for it and should have never been nominated.

I get that he is good in interviews and raising money from big corporations. There's a pretty good role in the party for that which doesn't require being President or being competent at running the country.

[PilotMan]

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Pete is currently bombing spectacularly as the head of DoT. Although in his defense, he was woefully unqualified for it and should have never been nominated.

I get that he is good in interviews and raising money from big corporations. There's a pretty good role in the party for that which doesn't require being President or being competent at running the country.

How is he "bombing spectacularly?"

[NobodyHere]

Dola:

And I'll admit I rolled my eyes when Pete took a month long parental leave quite soon after taking the job and that he only got the job in the first place as a political hand-out.

But how do you rate a Secretary of Transportation?

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Dola:

And I'll admit I rolled my eyes when Pete took a month long parental leave quite soon after taking the job and that he only got the job in the first place as a political hand-out.

But how do you rate a Secretary of Transportation?

They mostly oversee distribution of funds to projects that take years to complete so during their term you really can't. Outside that he's continued some of the goals from the Obama administration.

[RainMaker]

Perhaps some of you who have traveled have heard of the numerous flight delays and cancellations taking place. Not to mention the massive increase in costs that have gone with it.

Now none of this is new to the DoT. Consumer groups met with him at the beginning and laid out the issues with the airlines. He has done just about nothing in regards to their complaints. You can read a pretty scathing letter from Consumer Reports.

Then there are supply chains. The Port of Oakland and Port of Los Angeles are still both unmitigated disasters. Although some of their issues are the massive rail delays. Heavy restrictions and antiquated regulations on marijuana testing have contributed to the trucker shortage.

Chao was a complete disaster and it sucks that the new DoT would have to clean up some of the mess. But they aren't. At least Obama put people with vast transportation experience in the role. Pete was woefully unqualified to be a transportation secretary. I don't know how anyone can look at his resume and think otherwise.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Perhaps some of you who have traveled have heard of the numerous flight delays and cancellations taking place. Not to mention the massive increase in costs that have gone with it.

Now none of this is new to the DoT. Consumer groups met with him at the beginning and laid out the issues with the airlines. He has done just about nothing in regards to their complaints. You can read a pretty scathing letter from Consumer Reports.

Then there are supply chains. The Port of Oakland and Port of Los Angeles are still both unmitigated disasters. Although some of their issues are the massive rail delays. Heavy restrictions and antiquated regulations on marijuana testing have contributed to the trucker shortage.

Chao was a complete disaster and it sucks that the new DoT would have to clean up some of the mess. But they aren't. At least Obama put people with vast transportation experience in the role. Pete was woefully unqualified to be a transportation secretary. I don't know how anyone can look at his resume and think otherwise.

You've consistently blamed the supply chain issues on businesses making a decision. As recently as April you said:

Most supply chain shortage stories end up being a company making a conscious decision. Businesses that staff at the absolute bare bones so they can squeeze every shred of profit out of it that get burnt when something goes wrong.

For instance, Kelloggs gets mentioned a lot. This is a company that is coming off one of its most profitable years. They have bought back billions in shares the past decade. They've also been constantly laying off workers and had a factory shutdown over a labor dispute.

Now it's their business and their choice. Obviously, those decisions are working out well for them. But when some flavors of Pop-Tarts are out of stock, it's on them.

Now it's because of Pete?

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Atocep

You've consistently blamed the supply chain issues on businesses making a decision. As recently as April you said:

Now it's because of Pete?

It is on businesses who made short-sighted decisions. It's also the responsibility of certain government officials to protect citizens from those short-sighted decisions by punishing the culprits.

If your car is stolen, that's on the person who stole it. But if the cop says "nothing we can do about it", they aren't helping or doing their job.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

It is on businesses who made short-sighted decisions. It's also the responsibility of certain government officials to protect citizens from those short-sighted decisions by punishing the culprits.

If your car is stolen, that's on the person who stole it. But if the cop says "nothing we can do about it", they aren't helping or doing their job.

Does Kelloggs have an obligation to make sure pop tarts are on shelves? If it's your product and there's a shortage because you wanted cheaper supply chains that turned out to be unreliable I don't see where it's the government's business to punish the company. Unlike a stolen car, a crime hasn't been committed.

I'm sure PilotMan can provide more insight than anyone else here, but my understanding of the flight issues is we had a wave retirements (forced and optional) and layoffs during the pandemic that's created a pilot and staff shortage with carriers. I guess we could fine carriers for failing to uphold their end of the flights, but that's unlikely to ease the issue any time soon. You can't simply can't create new pilots instantly.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I don't see where it's the government's business to punish the company. Unlike a stolen car, a crime hasn't been committed.

Lets put aside the fact we fund the majority of their infrastructure. We just gave them $50 billion in taxpayer funds to pay those employees that there is now a shortage of. So I do think it is our business.

And what the airlines are doing does straddle what is and isn't a crime. Violating the CARES Act for one. Taking money for flights you know you don't have the staff to operate borders on fraud. Especially when you make it difficult to get a cash refund and try to placate with travel vouchers that expire.

[RainMaker]

Also since people are rushing to defend Mayor Pete of all people, can someone explain what made him qualified to run the Department of Transportation? What in his background do you like? Do you feel there was no one else more qualified for the role?

[GrantDawg]

He likes trains.

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[NobodyHere]

Note to Jill Biden, do not compare latinos to tacos.

[PilotMan]

Because they aren't all tasty with hot sauce?

[Edward64]

I wouldn't categorize it as insulting ... just weird.

“Raul helped build this organization with the understanding that the diversity of this community — as distinct as the bodegas of the Bronx, as beautiful as the blossoms of Miami, and as unique as the breakfast tacos here in San Antonio — is your strength,” Biden said.

[Edward64]

Yup, do the mea culpa quickly.

I think First Ladies have their own speech writer(s)?

Jill Biden apologized Tuesday for saying Latinos are “as unique” as San Antonio breakfast tacos during a speech to the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization.

“The first lady apologizes that her words conveyed anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community,” tweeted Jill Biden’s spokesperson, Michael LaRosa.

[Atocep]

I obsessively miss San Antonio breakfast tacos

[flere-imsaho]

Based on the last two presidential elections, Democrats should look to nominate someone who can win, in November, a majority of the following states: New Hampshire, Minnesota, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Based on the last two presidential elections, Democrats should look to nominate someone who can win, in November, a majority of the following states: New Hampshire, Minnesota, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida.

Absolutely this, but who is that person? It is one of the reasons I question Newsome. Will a California Governor really play in purple states?

[larrymcg421]

No incumbent VP in the primary era has been denied their party's nomination and only Quaye has been denied it when they ran at a later date. It's going to be Harris if she runs.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Does Kelloggs have an obligation to make sure pop tarts are on shelves? If it's your product and there's a shortage because you wanted cheaper supply chains that turned out to be unreliable I don't see where it's the government's business to punish the company. Unlike a stolen car, a crime hasn't been committed.

I'm sure PilotMan can provide more insight than anyone else here, but my understanding of the flight issues is we had a wave retirements (forced and optional) and layoffs during the pandemic that's created a pilot and staff shortage with carriers. I guess we could fine carriers for failing to uphold their end of the flights, but that's unlikely to ease the issue any time soon. You can't simply can't create new pilots instantly.

I will march on Kellogg's HQ if Pop Tarts are not available!

[Atocep]

Now fox News is complaining that gas prices are falling too fast.

They've so been silent on the fact that Biden added more jobs in the first 6 months of this year than Trump did in any full year of his presidency.

[GrantDawg]

President Biden gets Mexico to agree on $1.5 billion dollars on smart border security. How much did Trump get Mexico to pay for his wall again?
https://twitter.com/AndrewJBates46/s...RR6RzigWQ&s=19

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[Edward64]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

President Biden gets Mexico to agree on $1.5 billion dollars on smart border security. How much did Trump get Mexico to pay for his wall again?
https://twitter.com/AndrewJBates46/s...RR6RzigWQ&s=19

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He didn't have to. He strong armed Mexico to stop many illegals before they crossed the wall. And with the Remain in Mexico policy, limiting asylums etc. Mexico knew if they didn't stop the illegals, they would remain in Mexico for a long time.

Trump’s Best Means for Stopping Migrants Is Mexico’s Government - WSJ

Three years after President Trump vowed to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico to stop illegal immigrants, a much more effective obstacle has emerged: Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
:
“Trump has built his wall, and Mexico is paying for it,” former Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda said. “It’s a human wall, and it’s in Mexico: It’s the National Guard, which is much more effective and cheaper than a wall.”

Mexican officials say Mr. López Obrador feels he has no choice. Last year, Mr. Trump threatened to impose escalating tariffs on Mexico’s exports to the U.S. unless the country did more to stop migrants from reaching the U.S. Such a move would have devastated the Mexican economy, which relies heavily on manufactured exports to the U.S.

After an emergency meeting in June with U.S. officials in Washington, Mexico quickly complied with U.S. demands. Since then, Mexico has dispatched some 25,000 National Guard troops to detain migrants on the Guatemala border as well as its border with the U.S. That is about a third of the force Mr. López Obrador originally formed to combat violent drug traffickers who control swaths of Mexico’s territory.

As a result of the clampdown, Mexico’s detentions of Central American migrants was 35% higher last year through November compared with the same period of the previous year. Conversely, the number of migrants reaching the U.S. plummeted, U.S. officials say. Detentions of migrants on the U.S. southwest border fell from 130,000 in May—the highest monthly number in 13 years—to 32,800 in December.

Mexico has also agreed to other U.S. demands. It has already accepted allowing nearly 60,000 asylum seekers, mostly from Central American countries, to await their U.S. court hearings in dangerous Mexican border cities.

[Edward64]

Anyone know if the Secret Service is planning to testify to rebut (?) Hutchinson's story?

I googled and didn't see anything out there. I'd be disappointed if the commission doesn't try to force the testimony.

I'm guessing there is some Executive Privilege that would shield the SS but I'd think there is someway to apply pressure.

[GrantDawg]

Here is an interesting outlier name. Rapheal Warnock.

[flere-imsaho]

So, basically, Trump outsourced our own inhumanity towards brown migrants to a country that will treat them even worse, and did so with a threat that would not only have devastated the economy of an important ally, but also disrupted (further) critical supply chains feeding industry in his own country.

Yep, sounds like the kind of short-sighted, retributive, and pointlessly macho kind of policy we have grown to expect from the TrumpGOP.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

No incumbent VP in the primary era has been denied their party's nomination and only Quaye has been denied it when they ran at a later date. It's going to be Harris if she runs.

I miss this earlier. In today's political climate, I wouldn't use history as a definitive determiner. I don't think Harris will have the support in the party that many other VP's would. She is not exactly fitting the adage that "the most poplar person on the team is the back-up quarterback." As bad as people have criticized Biden, no one is really clamoring for Harris to take over. And was really bad at running a campaign.

[Edward64]

Yup, definitely ask (or threaten) for more heavy crude to be pumped.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/13/polit...rip/index.html

As President Joe Biden arrived here on Wednesday, he is doing something he has never done on a foreign trip: Embracing one of his predecessor's legacy achievements.

While much of his foreign travel in his first 18 months in office has focused on reversing the foreign policy of former President Donald Trump and shoring up battered alliances, Biden on his first trip to the Middle East will embrace the Trump-era Abraham Accords that normalized relations between Israel and several Arab countries and pursue an expansion of growing Arab-Israeli security and economic ties.

And nice first step I guess on the long road to normalization between Israel & SA.

People familiar with the matter said Saudi Arabia is expected to announce this week that it will allow all commercial flights to and from Israel to use its airspace and allow Israel's Muslim minority to take charter flights directly to Saudi Arabia to participate in the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Biden will also fly directly to Saudi Arabia from Israel, a moment that he called a "small symbol of the budding relations" between the two countries.

Senior Biden administration officials said full Saudi-Israel normalization remains out of reach, though covert coordination between the two countries has expanded.

[dubb93]

So the 10 year abortion story is actually true? Looks like police in Columbus, Ohio made an arrest. The Indy Star also just published an article (behind pay walls of course.)

[Ksyrup]

I understand the need for verification these days, but given we're talking about a 10 year old rape victim, I think we could have held off on the numerous statements and op-eds questioning whether this was true, or worse, outright stating it was fabricated as an abortion sob story in the wake of the Dobbs case, with no facts other than suspicion of a convenient narrative.

[stevew]

Ohio man charged in rape of 10-year-old that led to Indiana abortion

No paywalls on mobile I think

[cuervo72]

Why would we necessarily doubt it would happen sooner or later though? What are we doubting, that there are 10-year-olds who get raped or that there are 10-year-olds who have reached menarche and are ovulating?

[Lathum]

The right is gonna have a field day with his last name. She would never need an abortion if the dirty brown illegal wasn’t in the country.

[Ksyrup]

Yes, that's going to be a very easy pivot point.

[sterlingice]

As if on cue, the top story on Fox News:

Man arrested in rape of Ohio 10-year-old cited by Biden is illegal immigrant, ICE source says

SI