Joe Biden 2020 campaign megathread

[JA]

Any Democrat that votes for Biden is no better than a Republican - full stop. When his record comes to light, whomever chooses to continue supporting him is literally no better than a Trump supporter in my book. Even Copmala Harris is better than him.

I could probably hold my nose and vote for the others in the general, but under no circumstances would I ever vote for Biden.

[JA]

Comcast executive to host Joe Biden fundraiser

Comcast's chief lobbyist David Cohen and his wife will be hosting a fundraiser for former Vice President Joe Biden Thursday, on the day he is expected to announce his third candidacy for the presidency.

[...]

Unlike many of his competitors, Biden is courting some of the party's traditional high-dollar donors to support his campaign, which is evident from the invitation to the fundraiser, obtained by CBS Philadelphia. The Cohens, along with cohosts who include top lobbyists and lawyers in Pennsylvania, are seeking donations of at least $2,800 to attend the fundraiser, though there is also a "young professional" donation level of $250 included on the invitation.

[JA]

Any Democrat that votes for Biden is no better than a Republican - full stop. When his record comes to light, whomever chooses to continue supporting him is literally no better than a Trump supporter in my book. Even Copmala Harris is better than him.

I could probably hold my nose and vote for the others in the general, but under no circumstances would I ever vote for Biden.

All I have to say is don't vote for Trump.  Same goes for any of the other people completely disgusted by Biden.

If I'm disgusted by Biden, then why on earth would I vote for Trump?

[JA]

Damn. This is a very bold announcement video for Joe Biden.

[JA]

Damn. This is a very bold announcement video for Joe Biden.

...

I don't know if you're joking or not but it's not funny either way so please cut this crap out. Biden is not a good candidate but you're just spreading alt-right lies by propagating the whole "creeper" angle.

No thanks, I don't think I'll stop. And they're not lies. Biden's a total creep, yet people like you seem perfectly okay with his behavior. If he was a Republican, youd rightfully be rightfully damning him.

[JA]

Looks like Biden has secured the gamer vote.

[JA]

I can promise one thing regarding Biden's campaign: he'll never become President, even if he manages to win the nomination. Progressives will be far less willing to hold their nose and vote for Biden than they did for Clinton - and the fear of Trump won't be as powerful this time around. Turnout will be depressed and he'll bleed support to third parties. Combine that with the inevitable floor of Trump's support and his right-wing propaganda machine, and the result will be a Trump victory and presidency through January 2025.

And, yes, I'll absolutely be one of those voters who sit out the election or votes third party - and would encourage everyone I know to do the same.

[JA]

Moving out of Florida was one of the best decisions you’ve ever made. Thank you low COL red states for making Jacobin’s vote irrelevant!

Ah, yes, let's all celebrate the undemocratic electoral college for favoring certain voters over others. Joyous!

[JA]

Moving out of Florida was one of the best decisions you’ve ever made. Thank you low COL red states for making Jacobin’s vote irrelevant!

Ah, yes, let's all celebrate the undemocratic electoral college for favoring certain voters over others. Joyous!

Implying that this is a slur of some sort.

Yes, to a normal person it would be.

[JA]

I can promise one thing regarding Biden's campaign: he'll never become President, even if he manages to win the nomination. Progressives will be far less willing to hold their nose and vote for Biden than they did for Clinton - and the fear of Trump won't be as powerful this time around. Turnout will be depressed and he'll bleed support to third parties. Combine that with the inevitable floor of Trump's support and his right-wing propaganda machine, and the result will be a Trump victory and presidency through January 2025.

And, yes, I'll absolutely be one of those voters who sit out the election or votes third party - and would encourage everyone I know to do the same.

Then you are quite clearly not a progressive. You would be a Trp supporter in that case, and deserve to be treated as such.

So, refusing to vote against my conscience for a candidate I dislike because he's too much like Trump, makes me equivalent to a Trump supporter? Brilliant logic there.

[JA]

Biden gambles on high-risk primary strategy

From his schedule, his messaging, to policy positions, the former vice president is carving a divergent path through the primaries based on a theory that few of his rivals appear to believe — that the Democratic base isn’t nearly as liberal or youthful as everyone thinks.

[...]

Biden’s team points to recent polls, showing that a majority of the Democratic primary electorate identify as moderate or conservative, 56 percent is over 50 and nearly 60 percent are not college educated. And they point to the results of the 2018 midterm elections that they say saw moderate Democrats win their congressional and state primaries.

“There’s a big disconnect between the media narrative and what the primary electorate looks like and thinks, versus the media narrative and the Twitter narrative,” said one Biden adviser who declined to speak on the record. “The Democratic primary universe is far less liberal. It’s older than you think it is.”

[...]

That might explain the former vice president’s digital advertising buys since entering the race. Since his launch, Biden’s campaign has disproportionately focused on targeting Facebook ads to voters 45 years and older.

They make up an estimated 62 percent of likely Democratic primary voters, according to Bully Pulpit Interactive, a top Democratic digital firm. Biden has spent 83 percent of his total $1.2 million Facebook ad money on targeting them, according to data compiled by Bully Pulpit from April 20 until May 25.

Biden's strategy is, essentially, to disregard the more caucus-going end of the Democratic Party voters in favor of its, arguably, more significantly numbered moderate and older voters. He's deliberately orienting his campaign towards overwhelmingly dominating among older, more conservative primary voters while leaving all the others to fight over the younger, more liberal wing of the party.

Like Republicans, Biden is disregarding the Millennial voters, essentially, in favor of relying on a shrinking demographic of older voters. I can only imagine how such a strategy will translate into his general election campaign, which would likely cause significant numbers of Democratic voters to feel alienated and sit out the election or vote third party.

[JA]

Biden Tells Elite Donors He Doesn’t Want to ‘Demonize’ the Rich

“Remember, I got in trouble with some of the people on my team, on the Democratic side, because I said, you know, what I’ve found is rich people are just as patriotic as poor people. Not a joke. I mean, we may not want to demonize anybody who’s made money,” Biden told about 100 well-dressed donors at the Carlyle Hotel on New York’s Upper East Side, where the hors d’oeuvres included lobster, chicken satay and crudites.
 

“Truth of the matter is, you all know, you all know in your gut what has to be done,” Biden said. “We can disagree in the margins. But the truth of the matter is, it’s all within our wheelhouse and nobody has to be punished. No one’s standard of living would change. Nothing would fundamentally change,” he said.

Biden seems to be becoming something of a Democratic Trump - an old, out-of-touch white guy who says the quiet parts out loud.

At the current rate of Bidenisms, I'm going to be so busy holding my nose come next November, that it's going to be difficult to actually mark my ballot.

I have a feeling he is gonna have to start toning this shiot down or he could legit collapse.

So, the problem is that he needs to keep quiet what he honestly believes or risk losing? Rather than he doesn't belong anywhere near the White House because he's a horrible person with horrible politics?

The only significant difference between Biden and Trump, when you move past the carefully crafted media image, is party identification. If you could vote for Biden, even holding your nose, then you really have no room to attack the reluctant Trump voting Republicans. It's all tribalism and a total failure of American "democracy" to offer an actual alternative to Trump's right-wing authoritarianism and preservation of a racist, highly unequal, and deeply unjust colonial society.

[JA]

Biden Tells Elite Donors He Doesn’t Want to ‘Demonize’ the Rich

“Remember, I got in trouble with some of the people on my team, on the Democratic side, because I said, you know, what I’ve found is rich people are just as patriotic as poor people. Not a joke. I mean, we may not want to demonize anybody who’s made money,” Biden told about 100 well-dressed donors at the Carlyle Hotel on New York’s Upper East Side, where the hors d’oeuvres included lobster, chicken satay and crudites.
 

“Truth of the matter is, you all know, you all know in your gut what has to be done,” Biden said. “We can disagree in the margins. But the truth of the matter is, it’s all within our wheelhouse and nobody has to be punished. No one’s standard of living would change. Nothing would fundamentally change,” he said.

Biden seems to be becoming something of a Democratic Trump - an old, out-of-touch white guy who says the quiet parts out loud.

At the current rate of Bidenisms, I'm going to be so busy holding my nose come next November, that it's going to be difficult to actually mark my ballot.

I have a feeling he is gonna have to start toning this shiot down or he could legit collapse.

So, the problem is that he needs to keep quiet what he honestly believes or risk losing? Rather than he doesn't belong anywhere near the White House because he's a horrible person with horrible politics?

The only significant difference between Biden and Trump, when you move past the carefully crafted media image, is party identification. If you could vote for Biden, even holding your nose, then you really have no room to attack the reluctant Trump voting Republicans. It's all tribalism and a total failure of American "democracy" to offer an actual alternative to Trump's right-wing authoritarianism and preservation of a racist, highly unequal, and deeply unjust colonial society.

I do not think we'd have a concentration camp for the mass abduction of children on the southern border under a Biden Admin. Nor would we have pulled out of the Paris Climate Accords or the JCPOA with Iran. Gorsuch and Kavanaugh certainly wouldn't be on the court. The Individual ACA mandate would be in place. The 2017 tax cut would not be.

We would not have an inhumane travel ban preventing people from seeing dying Iranian and Sudanese relatives for the last time. Syrian refugee access to the US would not be cut.

Could you stop with this absurd lying about Biden being the same as Trump? Do you do anything besides lying?

I tell the truth and the truth is that Biden is a horrible person with horrible politics who isn't significantly different enough from Trump to make a clear distinction possible. I'll also say that Trump isn't significantly different from Obama either, who was a deliberately disappointing president that campaigned on change and delivered mediocrity, appeasement, and war. He built the drone warfare and mass deportation infrastructure that Trump has simply grown; it was bequeathed to him by his predecessor. Obama failed to address inequality, failed to stimulate the economy or assist homeowners who lost their homes or punish the criminals responsible whatsoever, he failed to implement meaningful healthcare reform, failed to strengthen workers' rights or social security, played political games with unemployment benefits, further destabilized the ME and killed countless innocents (including the bombing of a civilian hospital), and so on and so forth. He paved the way for Trump, who'll pave the way for Mr. "everything will stay the same," who'll pave the way for someone who'll make us yearn for the Trump Era.

Your party is a failure, your candidate(s) are a failure, and this entire system is a failure. That's not by coincidence, but by design; this is how it's meant to work and meant to be, with all the injustices, innocent lives lost, wars, insecurity, and social instability. And people like you simply want it to keep going with only minor tweaks here and there because you aren't one of the millions of daily victims of it, you aren't being crushed under its gears like the African American youth in Flint, the hundreds of thousands dead in Iraq, the slaves in Libya, or the disposable worker in a Chinese factory making cheap goods for Apple and Amazon to sell at an enormous profit for its shareholders and CEOs.

Of course, you'll just say I'm lying or dramatic or whatever, which is predictable and tiresome by now, just as my "rant" is to you. But, that's why I'll never support your Bidens or your Harris's or anyone else this system decides to choose to "represent" us while working daily against our interests and those of all suffering, poor, and/or powerless people in this world.

[JA]

Biden Tells Elite Donors He Doesn’t Want to ‘Demonize’ the Rich

“Remember, I got in trouble with some of the people on my team, on the Democratic side, because I said, you know, what I’ve found is rich people are just as patriotic as poor people. Not a joke. I mean, we may not want to demonize anybody who’s made money,” Biden told about 100 well-dressed donors at the Carlyle Hotel on New York’s Upper East Side, where the hors d’oeuvres included lobster, chicken satay and crudites.
 

“Truth of the matter is, you all know, you all know in your gut what has to be done,” Biden said. “We can disagree in the margins. But the truth of the matter is, it’s all within our wheelhouse and nobody has to be punished. No one’s standard of living would change. Nothing would fundamentally change,” he said.

Biden seems to be becoming something of a Democratic Trump - an old, out-of-touch white guy who says the quiet parts out loud.

At the current rate of Bidenisms, I'm going to be so busy holding my nose come next November, that it's going to be difficult to actually mark my ballot.

I have a feeling he is gonna have to start toning this shiot down or he could legit collapse.

So, the problem is that he needs to keep quiet what he honestly believes or risk losing? Rather than he doesn't belong anywhere near the White House because he's a horrible person with horrible politics?

The only significant difference between Biden and Trump, when you move past the carefully crafted media image, is party identification. If you could vote for Biden, even holding your nose, then you really have no room to attack the reluctant Trump voting Republicans. It's all tribalism and a total failure of American "democracy" to offer an actual alternative to Trump's right-wing authoritarianism and preservation of a racist, highly unequal, and deeply unjust colonial society.

I do not think we'd have a concentration camp for the mass abduction of children on the southern border under a Biden Admin. Nor would we have pulled out of the Paris Climate Accords or the JCPOA with Iran. Gorsuch and Kavanaugh certainly wouldn't be on the court. The Individual ACA mandate would be in place. The 2017 tax cut would not be.

We would not have an inhumane travel ban preventing people from seeing dying Iranian and Sudanese relatives for the last time. Syrian refugee access to the US would not be cut.

Could you stop with this absurd lying about Biden being the same as Trump? Do you do anything besides lying?

I tell the truth and the truth is that Biden is a horrible person with horrible politics who isn't significantly different enough from Trump to make a clear distinction possible. I'll also say that Trump isn't significantly different from Obama either, who was a deliberately disappointing president that campaigned on change and delivered mediocrity, appeasement, and war. He built the drone warfare and mass deportation infrastructure that Trump has simply grown; it was bequeathed to him by his predecessor. Obama failed to address inequality, failed to stimulate the economy or assist homeowners who lost their homes or punish the criminals responsible whatsoever, he failed to implement meaningful healthcare reform, failed to strengthen workers' rights or social security, played political games with unemployment benefits, further destabilized the ME and killed countless innocents (including the bombing of a civilian hospital), and so on and so forth. He paved the way for Trump, who'll pave the way for Mr. "everything will stay the same," who'll pave the way for someone who'll make us yearn for the Trump Era.

Your party is a failure, your candidate(s) are a failure, and this entire system is a failure. That's not by coincidence, but by design; this is how it's meant to work and meant to be, with all the injustices, innocent lives lost, wars, insecurity, and social instability. And people like you simply want it to keep going with only minor tweaks here and there because you aren't one of the millions of daily victims of it, you aren't being crushed under its gears like the African American youth in Flint, the hundreds of thousands dead in Iraq, the slaves in Libya, or the disposable worker in a Chinese factory making cheap goods for Apple and Amazon to sell at an enormous profit for its shareholders and CEOs.

Of course, you'll just say I'm lying or dramatic or whatever, which is predictable and tiresome by now, just as my "rant" is to you. But, that's why I'll never support your Bidens or your Harris's or anyone else this system decides to choose to "represent" us while working daily against our interests and those of all suffering, poor, and/or powerless people in this world.

You didn't address literally a single one of the 9 (8if you group Gorsuch and Kavanaugh) points I made, because you are incapable of backing down when caught in a lie.

Alright, I'll address each of your points, which I basically already have when saying the differences between them are so small it'd be mostly inconsequential.

I do not think we'd have a concentration camp for the mass abduction of children on the southern border under a Biden Admin.

Maybe, maybe not. But, Biden's track record on border issues, deportations, and civil rights for immigrants has been anything but good.

Nor would we have pulled out of the Paris Climate Accords

Sure, he wouldn't have done that. And, sure, his climate policy would be better than Trump's. But, he hasn't proposed anything nor is there any reason to believe he'll actually pursue any policies that adequately address the serious crisis that is anthropogenic climate change.

or the JCPOA with Iran.

Likely not. Perhaps Biden would have a considerably better policy towards Iran - one that avoids war. That is, arguably, the most significant area of improvement Biden has over Trump. But, his slavish obedience to Israeli interests certain present a serious problem with his foreign policy credentials.

Gorsuch and Kavanaugh certainly wouldn't be on the court.

That's true, but someone like Garland likely would be. He'd try to work with Republicans, which would mean choosing a conservative-ish SCOTUS candidate who'd prove to be a disappointment in regards to civil rights, labor rights, and other causes (but at least it wouldn't be a Republican!).

The Individual ACA mandate would be in place.

And our healthcare system would hardly, if at all, be reformed away from a for-profit model that completely fails low-income, minority, and unhealthy people for the sake of making a few people super rich.

The 2017 tax cut would not be.

Nor would there be any meaningful tax increases, redistribution of wealth, wealth tax, higher tax on investments/stocks, or anything like that since, as Biden himself said when addressing wealthy donors, "nobody has to be punished. No one's standard of living will change."

We would not have an inhumane travel ban preventing people from seeing dying Iranian and Sudanese relatives for the last time.

Probably not, but Biden sure wasn't bothered about separating families or deporting immigrants for frivolous reasons when he voted for anti-immigrant legislation in the 1990s or served as VP to a President that deported immigrants at a higher rate than Trump.

Syrian refugee access to the US would not be cut.

Probably not, but if Biden continued or escalated the conflict that Obama had engaged the US in, then there would simply be even more chaos, death, and mass refugee emigration from Syria (to Biden's credit, he does seem to be less interventionist than Obama as he opposed arming the Syrian rebels).

I never said there wasn't a difference between Biden and Trump; there are obvious differences. However, they simply don't amount to enough to make the claim that they are significantly different or that Biden is worth voting for considering his personal and political flaws.