Biden presidency and 2024 election campaign

[Pies4shaw]

It isn’t difficult - when in doubt, vote against the actual fascist.

[stui magpie]

An ex army vet who works as a math teacher by day in Texas has changed his name, legally, to "Literally Anybody Else" and is running for POTUS.

[Jezza]

Is it being exaggerated by pundits, or was Biden a trainwreck?

I'm at work, so I haven't been able to watch the debate yet.

[What'sinaname]

Odds for Newsom winning the Democrat nomination are shortening.

https://www.nysun.com/article/betting-o ... ing-debate

[What'sinaname]

...and yes....it was a trainwreck.

[stui magpie]

I didn't watch it but I've read commentary from a few places, It was a slow moving trainwreck.

Trump blustered and lied his way through the debate, Biden sleepwalked and stumbled. He did absolutely nothing to allay fears that he's too old for this.

Stupid thing is, reading some of the stuff, Biden has apparently said that he's only running because Trump is, he thinks he's the only one who can beat him and Trump apparently said that the only reason he's running is because Biden is, if it was someone else, he'd go do something different.

Creative solution would be to get them both in a room and agree to both withdraw.

[David]

It’s possible black comedy is the only possible response at this point:

https://youtu.be/3SJr44m-w1Y?feature=shared

[eddiesmith]

Is it being exaggerated by pundits, or was Biden a trainwreck?

I'm at work, so I haven't been able to watch the debate yet.

It was very, very bad. Says a lot when a convicted criminal is a better option than a senile old man.

[stui magpie]

It’s possible black comedy is the only possible response at this point:

https://youtu.be/3SJr44m-w1Y?feature=shared

Good summary. I'd expect the lowest voter turn out in history.

[pietillidie]

Oh geez, sounds like it was a wise decision to avoid watching it like the plague, as I did the one here in the UK.

[think positive]

I saw the bit on the news, very scary situation. Trump could be given free re8n to literally destroy what’s left of the US

[What'sinaname]

^ That wont happen. There are 535 elected officials who thrive on the gravy train that is the legislative branch. If the Prez goes rouge and threatens even an ounce of that gravy, they'll manage to get the two-thirds vote to veto him.

[Magpietothemax]

It isn’t difficult - when in doubt, vote against the actual fascist.

That is OK, as long as you don't vote for a senile war criminal/genocide enabler,

[Magpietothemax]

Is it being exaggerated by pundits, or was Biden a trainwreck?

I'm at work, so I haven't been able to watch the debate yet.

'Nothing exaggerated. Was a total trainwreck. Could barefly finish sentences and often lost track of what his topic was. Could not come close to putting Trump to the sword despite Trump's numerous bizarre and obvious lies.

The Democrats are now in full scale panic mode, and there will be a move no doubt to try to get Biden to withdraw from the race so that they can try to come up with an electable candidate.

[Magpietothemax]

I say all that in full knowledge of the central failing of lesser-evilism in terms of how it props up corrupt two-party systems, erodes democracy and enables the rightward drift that creates Trump and people like him. But sometimes we don’t get to play the long game, and have to deal pragmatically with the choice in front of us. And accelerationism is and always has been a fool’s errand.

For what it’s worth, I would not vote for Starmer’s Labour in the UK (and that’s a non-preferential voting system). But I would most likely vote for Biden in the US this election, much as I would choose Biden if he were running against Hitler in 1933 or against Pinochet in 1988. Trump may not be nearly as bad as those two, but I hope the point is clear here: there are cases where lesser-evilism is tactically warranted.

No there aren't. The point about 'lesser-evilism'' is that it paves the way for the right wing. It blocks the workers from taking an independent road, and leads to their demoralisationj, confusion. Then the right wing strikes (Pinochet, 1974, Nazi Germany 1933). The same phenonomen is currently playing out in France. The French "liberal" and fake left media (le Monde, Mediapart) are screaming for a vote against Le Pen (Le Monde) or a vote for the New Popular Front (Mediapart). Anything they claim is better than the fascists. Yet they never ask themselves how did the fascists get into such a strong position in the first place? Precisely because the policies of the so called "lesser evil" parties have led to the current crisis (inflation, cost of living crisis, the growing threat of war, the continuous burden of military spending on society), leading to apathy (a plague on both your houses) or complete political disorientation (I hate them all, I will vote for someone who has a radically different plan. This is the position of many lower middle class layers who get attracted to the neofascists). So, the neofascists actually get into a situation where they can take power (Le Pen in France, Trump in US).
This is why the only alternative to capitalist politics is an anticapitalist perspective, fought for by the only class which has an interest in such a perspective - the working class.