Bill Maher: Clueless as ever about Presidential elections"It should go without saying that Biden in any condition is preferable to Trump, especially after the sinister Supreme Court ruling on Monday granting presidents immunity for their official acts, an act of civic desecration all but ensuring that a second-term Trump would rule as a vengeful dictator. The stakes of this election are existential; it’s a referendum on whether America will continue to be a liberal democracy." - Michelle Goldberg, NY Times, Monday
"If anyone were to doubt the menace of Donald Trump, they had only to watch his performance last Thursday night. He was worse than ever. His bullying lies were not just lies — they were frightening opposites of the truth, uttered with the vigor and certainty of someone who has now mastered the dark art of demagoguery. It is difficult to summarize his lies because they suffused every sentence. "- Robert Reich, Substack, What Do Democrats and Sane People Do Now?
Bill Maher just keeps the 'hits' coming, in cluelessness, this time about American presidential elections. His fantasy - ideational NY Times op-ed:
Now has him arguing mindlessly for an open convention, writing such tommyrot as:
"Democrats could not buy, with all of George Soros’s money, the enthusiasm, engagement and interest they would get from having an open convention — and in Chicago no less, famous for Democratic convention drama. Suddenly, instead of rehashing the debate from hell — worst episode of “The Golden Bachelor” ever — they would be hosting a competition, something Americans love. Who will get the rose this August in Chicago? Gavin or Gretchen? ...
My pick would be Gavin Newsom. Watching him make the case against Mr. Trump in the pre-debate interviews and defend Mr. Biden post-debate reminded me: This guy is good at this."
One would have at least thought this smug character would have had enough on-air education from political maven Chris Matthews on Friday night's Real Time. You know, to get his head straight and clear out the wishful thinking nonsense. But not so. Maher is as committed to remaining a Political Pollyanna as ever. In an effort at a wake up call, Matthews reminded him of a little thing called the 12th amendment. To wit:
The Twelfth Amendment
made a series of adjustments to the Electoral College system. For the electors,
it was now mandated that a distinct vote had to
be taken for the president and the vice president. Further, one of the selected candidates must be someone who
is not from the same state as the elector.
In other words, it basically chucks the current ( first woman and minority) VP - Kamala Harris - overboard. It also violates the 12th amendment, and as Chris Matthews added: 'What do you think Harris' team is going to say, not to mention her voters?' Well, they wouldn't be too enthused and I'd dismiss right now Maher's half-assed rejoinder "It wouldn't be as bad as people think." Oh yes it would, my friend.
The other aspect overlooked by Maher and his cheerleaders for changing horses is that in the event Biden did drop out his entire accumulated war chest, as well as operations structure, then reverts entirely to VP Harris. What's left for Newsom, Whitmer, Shapiro and any other 'dream' candidates? Bupkis. As one NY Times commenter noted:
Maher has no idea the amount of resources that go into a presidential campaign - polling, message testing, ad reservations, legal ballot access, staffing: all take time and money to build out, both of which will be in short supply if the nominee is picked on the convention floor. The RNC and Trump campaign have nearly $170 million on hand right now. They will report a higher number on the 15th.
Because of FEC regulations, Harris is the only candidate who can access what team Biden has raised. Newsom (or Beshear, or Whitmer) would be starting from ZERO, ten weeks before election day. They cannot transfer any of the money from gubernatorial campaigns to the presidential level. Soros cannot write a check covering the difference. Republicans will have millions at their disposal to highlight Newsom's "California baggage", while Dems are frantically trying to catch up on the money front. A younger governor may be able to do more press hits on TV, but our media landscape is far too fragmented now for any one candidate to spread a concise message.
That is why it would be difficult if not impossible to 'change horses' this late in the campaign and especially to have an "open convention." (As Michelle Goldberg put it this is a fantasy out of Aaron Sorkin's Dem political soap, 'The West Wing'.) Btw, even Maher in his op-ed did touch reality at one point about Newsom, noting:
"Yes, he has too much California baggage — some of which I don’t love."
But you can bet your sweet bippy Trump and the Reeps will make hay with it, especially the escalation of 'smash and grab' gangs in LA, San Fran etc., and also the "exploding homeless population." (Now over 400.000).
Maher also doesn't seem to process that none of his fantasy candidates to take Biden's place - whether Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer, Josh Shapiro, Andy Beshear or any others- have approval ratings that break 20%. Getting national name recognition alone would likely take more months than we have left before Nov. 5th. As NY Times' columnist Jamelle Bouie noted last night (All In) the only serious and logical option other than Joe Biden is Kamala Harris, the first in line of succession as Biden's VP. No one else would have access to the campaign operations and resources, war chest, so it's useless and stupid picking fantasy names out of thin air for an "open convention" and trying to get people to believe it's a plan. In the meantime there is a memetic resurgence in social media (KHive) for Harris:
Matthews last point may also have been lost on Maher: that democracy "is not some abstract concept". Indeed, one for whom it is more ought to recognize instantly its violations, as when Trump begged Brad Raffensberger for 12,000 votes in Georgia in the 2020 election or set then acting AG Jeffrey Clarke to find ways to nullify Biden's election.
As Chris fairly screeched at the still lame -faced Maher:
"Every other president has acknowledged losing an election when he did. Not Trump. Trump does not respect democracy. He should not even be a candidate."
Which means it is up to we the voters to ensure he's neutered again by leaving him out of our voting choices, as well as making other non-choices (e.g. no vote at top of ticket, voting 3rd party) that would still squeeze him into unearned power.
That means ultimately, we the voters are charged with being the last bastion to protect our democracy. No court, verdict, grand jury, special prosecutor or other agent can do it for us. And it is on us to do the work (of voting) not Biden. As Atlantic
columnist David Frum aptly puts it,
by Elizabeth Preza | June 29, 2024 - 6:49am | permalink— from Alternet
Two-time Donald Trump voters who’ve since soured on the former president still don’t plan to back him after his debate with President Joe Biden, according to a focus group spearheaded by conservative strategist Sarah Longwell.
Longwell, publisher of the Bulwark and prominent “Never Trumper,” joined CNN on Friday to discuss the fallout from Biden’s much-maligned performance at the first presidential debate held on Thursday.
Longwell said she hosted a focus group Friday morning with “two-time Trump voters who are out on Trump — people who did not want to vote for him again.”
Noting “some of them had been leaning Biden prior to last night's debate,” Longwell said, “this morning, they told us that they just didn't think they could get there on Biden.”
“I will say, though, they were very clear about Trump still,” the Republican strategist said. “One of the things you heard from all the voters in the focus group is that Trump is a liar. Trump is a bad person. They don't want to vote for Trump. There was nothing about last night in Trump's performance that brought these voters who don't like Trump back to him.”
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