Has U.S. Democracy Been Trumped?

[cherdano]

A senior Biden advisor:

Before one more person @ me over why @JoeBiden needs to be in public more, I beg you to tweet at

@MSNBC and @CNN and ask them why they didn't carry his TWO public events today?

 

Too bad Biden hired Ron Klain rather than kenberg!

[Winstonm]

Now that Trump is trying to go full autocrat, everyone should be reminded that the Republicans in the U.S. Senate had their chance to remove him from office. Remember that in November.

[y66]

Biden's response is lame:

 

We are a nation in pain, but we must not allow this pain to destroy us. We are a nation enraged, but we cannot allow our rage to consume us. Please stay safe. Please take care of each other.

As President, I will help lead this conversation — and more importantly, I will listen, just as I did today visiting the site of last night's protests in Wilmington.

F#ck conversation. Where is the condemnation of a brutal murder by an officer of the law whose sworn duty is to protect the public?

 

Too bad Biden isn't listening to kenberg.

 

As for his choice of senior adviser, I suggest he try to hire the guy who's advising Mitch McConnell who said

 

In no world whatsoever should arresting a man for an alleged minor infraction involve a police officer putting his knee on the man’s neck for nine minutes while he cries out ‘I can’t breathe’ and then goes silent. Our nation cannot deafen itself to the anger, the pain and the frustration of black Americans. Our nation needs to hear this.

[kenberg]

I thought I had said my piece about Biden's campaign and should let it be but for better or worse I want to say a bit more.

 

The cherdano post, with the complaint from Ron Klain. I link it with speculation by Winston and others that Biden would not be able to get air coverage. The short version is that nobody votes for a whiner. The longer version is that the campaign does employ people who know about the media, does it not? And, again, I want to celebrates Biden win rather than complain about how unfair it is that he lost. So my message to Klain would be "If the lack of coverage upsets you, get your butt in gear and do something about it". And no, I do not know exactly what. I might be of use if a theorem needs proving but I know nothing, and happily know nothing, about getting media coverage.

 

Yes I am aware that the president of the United States does not train police officers. I am aware of that. I do believe, however, that the president can help solve problems. That is not to say that it is easy. To shift the focus some, I think inequity in education has to be addressed. I know the president does not train teachers. I think he has a role to play. By no means to I say that these matters are simple. But they are important. I think the economic based inequity in education is dramatically worse than it was when I was a high school student some 60+ years ago. The racially based inequity in education is bad now and was bad then.

 

There is also the discussion, from Richard and others, of whether I have looked for things Biden has been saying and doing. The answer is yes, but maybe, ok surely, not as much as I should do. But wait! I'm a retired guy with at least a modest interest in politics. Biden needs the votes of those whose everyday lives leave them exhausted. Again my refrain: I don't want to hear that Biden lost because people just didn't put enough effort into finding what he was doing or saying.

 

It's early, sort of. It's only June. I hope we will not later be hearing that it is only July or only August.

 

Nothing is absolute. I might later be eating my words. But I find it ominous that an adviser to Biden is complaining about lack of coverage instead of planing what to do about it.

[hrothgar]

Biden's response is lame:

 

F#ck conversation. Where is the condemnation of a brutal murder by an officer of the law whose sworn duty is to protect the public?

 

 

You mean comments like the following:

 

"There is systemic racism, white supremacy, it's real ... You see it. I think we all see it but African-Americans see more clearly."

 

"I promise you... that we're going to make sure that the economic recovery deals with the institutional structures and institutional racism, but also economic structures that need to be fixed,"

 

Note: I personally agree that what the polices officers did in Minneapolis looks like murder. And it's fine for you, or I, or even folks in the media to say so. It is grossly inappropriate for the President (or for that matter the Democratic nominee) to be making the same sorts of comments before a trial takes place.

 

I don't want to live in a world where the executive is interfering with individual criminal cases. This is part of the way in which Trump has perverted the justice system and it needs to end.

[y66]

There is systemic racism, white supremacy, it's real ... You see it. I think we all see it but African-Americans see more clearly.

I promise you... that we're going to make sure that the economic recovery deals with the institutional structures and institutional racism, but also economic structures that need to be fixed.

No sh#t systemic racism is real. Nobody knows this better than Biden. But that's not the sh#t he needs to be emphasizing right now.

 

He would do well to spare us all the platitudes and focus on a simple message:

 

1. In no world whatsoever should arresting a man for an alleged minor infraction involve a police officer putting his knee on the man’s neck for nine minutes while he cries out ‘I can’t breathe’ and then goes silent.

 

2. Don't loot. Vote!

[y66]

How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change by Barack Obama

[Winstonm]

I thought I had said my piece about Biden's campaign and should let it be but for better or worse I want to say a bit more.

 

The cherdano post, with the complaint from Ron Klain. I link it with speculation by Winston and others that Biden would not be able to get air coverage. The short version is that nobody votes for a whiner. The longer version is that the campaign does employ people who know about the media, does it not? And, again, I want to celebrates Biden win rather than complain about how unfair it is that he lost. So my message to Klain would be "If the lack of coverage upsets you, get your butt in gear and do something about it". And no, I do not know exactly what. I might be of use if a theorem needs proving but I know nothing, and happily know nothing, about getting media coverage.

 

Yes I am aware that the president of the United States does not train police officers. I am aware of that. I do believe, however, that the president can help solve problems. That is not to say that it is easy. To shift the focus some, I think inequity in education has to be addressed. I know the president does not train teachers. I think he has a role to play. By no means to I say that these matters are simple. But they are important. I think the economic based inequity in education is dramatically worse than it was when I was a high school student some 60+ years ago. The racially based inequity in education is bad now and was bad then.

 

There is also the discussion, from Richard and others, of whether I have looked for things Biden has been saying and doing. The answer is yes, but maybe, ok surely, not as much as I should do. But wait! I'm a retired guy with at least a modest interest in politics. Biden needs the votes of those whose everyday lives leave them exhausted. Again my refrain: I don't want to hear that Biden lost because people just didn't put enough effort into finding what he was doing or saying.

 

It's early, sort of. It's only June. I hope we will not later be hearing that it is only July or only August.

 

Nothing is absolute. I might later be eating my words. But I find it ominous that an adviser to Biden is complaining about lack of coverage instead of planing what to do about it.

 

Ken I understand your frustration; however, on the subject of media, only this morning my iphone news had 2 or 3 articles that said Biden was planning a major speech in the next few days. Aha! I thought. Ken will like this. But when I went to the WaPo online site - which was the source - nothing. I then did a Google search and again nothing. I don't know how this news came to either be or perhaps disappeared in a cloud vacuum.

 

In 2015-16, Trump - with help from Russia - used Facebook and Twitter to reach millions of voters, even to the point where Russians helped organize real events. Biden is not Trump. I doubt the people who support Biden - seriously or only somewhat - rely on Facebook and Twitter as their news sources. This is a different world. I am 12 years younger than you, so my strongest recollections of news and what that means is from ABC, CBS, and NBC and people like Walter Cronkite and Chet Huntley and David Brinkley. Now, for millions, news is whatever captivates the imagination of some "friend" on Facebook who "shares" that find with the world - and it is staggering how gullible are so many millions of people that unless it is total junk, spread it as though it were real and newsworthy.

 

If Biden's path to victory lies with reaching those people who rely on that quagmire of nonsense and misinformation to keep them informed, he has almost zero chance, IMO. He can't outTrump Trump in crazy or in Russian help. Biden's best bet is to act presidential, IMO. I hope he is planning a major speech.

 

But just try to find the story about it.....

 

[hrothgar]

The speach is available at

 

https://www.pscp.tv/w/1DXxyeWBWDYxM

 

Note that Twitter is a feastering dung heap however, it is useful to get this sort of information

[Winstonm]

The speach is available at

 

https://www.pscp.tv/w/1DXxyeWBWDYxM

 

Note that Twitter is a feastering dung heap however, it is useful to get this sort of information

 

Thanks. I guess the "news" on my phone is from yesterday or earlier.

[barmar]

As for his choice of senior adviser, I suggest he try to hire the guy who's advising Mitch McConnell who said

I really don't take anything McConnell says about this seriously. The GOP has been systematically dismantling many civil rights laws and policies for years, and he's their nominal leader.

[Winstonm]

America first? Guess again: 100% foreign ownership of.....

 

 

CUMULUS MEDIA is a leading audio-first media and entertainment company delivering premium content to over a quarter billion people every month ...

[kenberg]

The speach is available at

 

https://www.pscp.tv/w/1DXxyeWBWDYxM

 

Note that Twitter is a feastering dung heap however, it is useful to get this sort of information

 

It's a decent speech, I somehow had portions of the text, already. I will try to find the full text and read the rest later.

 

As to the way of getting this speech, I regret opening the link. I am somewhere between tech savvy and tech hopeless. I am cautious. Not as cautious as Zel has sometimes suggested, but cautious.

 

Here is what happened. I clicked on the link and something came up, partly a stationary screen, partly as some stuff coming on and off, and a note saying that I need an App. When I saw "need an App" I closed it. That's me being cautious. But then I heard something through the speakers. So I only thought that I had closed the link. It is still going on although the volume has dropped.

 

Added: I have since succeeded in closing it, but I hope to delete any trace of it. I don't trust anything that does things that I had no intention of having it do. If it was my error, so be it. I don't trust it. And no, I am not sure just what "it" is. I am hoping it did not download an un-asked for App.

 

Added: If this is what is needed to listen to Biden, he has a problem that needs a solution. I am sure I am not the only person out there who is cautious about computer Apps and such.

[hrothgar]

If you click on the play button, the video will play

 

You can also download an app if you want

this is not required to play the video

[y66]

I really don't take anything McConnell says about this seriously. The GOP has been systematically dismantling many civil rights laws and policies for years, and he's their nominal leader.

Me neither. McConnell said what he had to say to keep from losing votes in his upcoming election where this will definitely be an issue.

[kenberg]

If you click on the play button, the video will play

 

You can also download an app if you want

this is not required to play the video

 

Yes, I just found it overwhelming. I have generally avoided trouble by being cautious, and even when I have regretted something it has been easy enough to deal with. But there have been times when I have regretted something, and for a bit of time I thought this was going to be one of them.

There is some tricky stuff out there, and caution seems right.

Anyway, I am now relaxed about it all..

[Chas_P]

Now that Trump is trying to go full autocrat, everyone should be reminded that the Republicans in the U.S. Senate had their chance to remove him from office. Remember that in November.

Just so that we all understand...are you saying that none of the arson, looting, beatings, etc. would ever have happened had Pence been at the helm? Because he would've been had Trump been removed from office. And here's another hypothetical...Let's assume that Hillary was elected in 2016. Would the arsonists, looters, etc be obeying Her Majesty's decrees and staying at home watching Netflix? Or would they have been on the streets setting fire to police cars, government buildings, stealing liquor, Nike shoes, cigarettes, and Louis Vuitton purses?

[Cyberyeti]

Just so that we all understand...are you saying that none of the arson, looting, beatings, etc. would ever have happened had Pence been at the helm? Because he would've been had Trump been removed from office. And here's another hypothetical...Let's assume that Hillary was elected in 2016. Would the arsonists, looters, etc be obeying Her Majesty's decrees and staying at home watching Netflix? Or would they have been on the streets setting fire to police cars, government buildings, stealing liquor, Nike shoes, cigarettes, and Louis Vuitton purses?

 

Maybe the cops would not have the feeling that they could just kill black people and get away with it with Hillary in the white house rather than a white supremacist and the protests would not have been necessary.

[kenberg]

Just so that we all understand...are you saying that none of the arson, looting, beatings, etc. would ever have happened had Pence been at the helm? Because he would've been had Trump been removed from office. And here's another hypothetical...Let's assume that Hillary was elected in 2016. Would the arsonists, looters, etc be obeying Her Majesty's decrees and staying at home watching Netflix? Or would they have been on the streets setting fire to police cars, government buildings, stealing liquor, Nike shoes, cigarettes, and Louis Vuitton purses?

 

I know that in an earlier post I said that I would rather have duck, any duck, in the White House instead of Donald Trump.. I suppose we could discuss whether a duck would actually be better. But we have Donald Trump in he White House, most unfortunately. We could speculate about what someone else would have done but we are stuck with who we have. I think that a duck could not have done worse. but why speculate.

 

Donald Trump does not belong in the White House. He doesn't, that's that. His performance has been far worse than I expected when he was elected, and I expected it to be awful.

 

There is never a duck around when you need one.

[hrothgar]

Just so that we all understand...are you saying that none of the arson, looting, beatings, etc. would ever have happened had Pence been at the helm? Because he would've been had Trump been removed from office. And here's another hypothetical...Let's assume that Hillary was elected in 2016. Would the arsonists, looters, etc be obeying Her Majesty's decrees and staying at home watching Netflix? Or would they have been on the streets setting fire to police cars, government buildings, stealing liquor, Nike shoes, cigarettes, and Louis Vuitton purses?

 

Quite the straw man you're constructing there...

 

No one is claiming that there is zero chance that the events of the past couple weeks would have happened if Hillary had won the election. With this said and done, I think that it is absolutely clear that the likelihood that these events occurred is much much higher with Trump in the White House and his reaction once these events occurred has been to stoke the flames.

 

Two simple data points.

 

First: compare Trump's action a couple days back in which in which the National Guard used rubber bullets and tear gas against peaceful protestors - all so Trump could have a meaningless photo opp in front of a church - with the speech that Biden gave in Philadelphia yesterday. These are contemporaneous actions and they show the clear differences between Trump and a normal administation.

 

Second: I don't think that you can over emphasize the ways in which the botched coronavirus response is contributing to the events that are currently unfolding. You have a whole bunch of people who are enormously upset who have a whole lot of free time on their hands.

[kenberg]

I will say a bit more about the Chas post because I really do hope to sway some who still have lingering hope for Trump. Maybe not Chas, but maybe someone somewhere.

 

The pointing to others, Pence or HC or what have you, is an acknowledgement that Trump is scum. Or hopeless. Or, at the least, beyond defense. It has always been like this . It becomes impossible to support a person so what to do? Deflect the conversation.Talk about how awful others would be. This was very much what happened in the Nixon years. Look at what Johnson did. Look at what Truman did. Do anything except look at Nixon.

 

Trump is far and away the worst president during my lifetime and if I were more of a historian I could probably say the worst president ever. But even more to the point, forget the comparison with others, whether he is better or worse than, I don't know, maybe Van Buren. He is, on his own, a full-fledged disaster. The only thing he could now do to help the country is to resign. Go away. He won't, of course. I am hoping some who voted for him in 2016 will by now have decided not to vote for him in 2020.

[y66]

Shields and Brooks on George Floyd, 100K coronavirus deaths (May 29):

 

[Winstonm]

Here is a big reason why the protests are happening - with all races taking part. This is not policing, but bullying:

 

 

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police officers surrounded, shoved and yelled expletives at two Associated Press journalists covering protests Tuesday in the latest aggression against members of the media during a week of unrest around the country.

 

Portions of the incident were captured on video by videojournalist Robert Bumsted, who was working with photographer Maye-E Wong to document the protests in lower Manhattan over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

 

The video shows more than a half-dozen officers confronting the journalists as they filmed and took photographs of police ordering protesters to leave the area near Fulton and Broadway shortly after an 8 p.m. curfew took effect.

 

An officer, using an expletive, orders them to go home. Bumsted is heard on video explaining the press are considered "essential workers" and are allowed to be on the streets. An officer responds "I don't give a s—-." Another tells Bumsted "get the f—- out of here you piece of s—-."

 

This is a turning point. The country is in danger of failure.

 

[Winstonm]

Ken, it seems I'm not the only ones who think the media has a lot of responsibility for Biden's lack of coverage: The Daily Beast

 

Team Biden: The Media Is ***** Up the Election Again

NOT AGAIN The former VP's campaign is growing irritated at the lack of coverage they're getting relative to Trump. And they have additional grumblings for The New York Times.

 

 

[kenberg]

Ken, it seems I'm not the only ones who think the media has a lot of responsibility for Biden's lack of coverage: The Daily Beast

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, but your citation only says that the Biden campaign is complaining. I suppose the Beast agrees.

So this is a good opportunity for Biden to show that he can successfully cope with a problem. I suppose the starting point would be to understand why this is happening. Trump complains that the failing NYT is out to get him. That probably wouldn't fly for Biden. He needs to think through just what is happening. Complaining, even if the complaint has some truth to it, only takes him so far. People get enthusiastic about a candidate who can solve problems.

 

 

 

So this is an opportunity.