This is the first election I have been excited about in a long time and I am 84 yrs. old! I will do everything I can to help Kamala win so we can beat Trump and P2025!!
I’m still reeling, but with a wounded Joe, I feel that the tables have turned. Kick arse Dems, and turn your circular firing squad on the enemy. It’s time for KDay. And don’t screw this up. Sorry, but that has to be said.
And you said it, JD! Though I read Robert Hubble daily and appreciate his apologies when he uses shall we say strong language, I love it. And screw the so-called party leaders. After 60 years as a registered Dem I’m ready again to kick ass! Please don’t screw it up, party leaders.
But party rules say that Biden cannot pass his delegates to another candidate, so Harris will have to cement them on her own, as well as the superdelegates, a group of party leaders and former elected officials whose votes carry weight in the convention. As of 10 p.m. on Sunday, she had won 531 of the 1,986 delegates necessary to win the nomination.
I hope we Dems have enough sanity to cement her position in a flash as we make clear to the cretins that Dems are not perpetually snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Pray it be so…
Not lost on me is the symbolism of Kamala becoming the first woman, and woman of color, as the percents of Whites and White Males inexorably change from majority to minority, likely, in her first or second term as President of the United States. It would be the first time, I believe, that our leadership change is in keeping with who the people are in We The People. A big step forward toward being a nation governed by and on behalf of all it's people, just like the founders wrote in our Declaration of Independence. Let's Make it happen!
Before this happened, I thought we weren't ready, that the prejudices were too entrenched. But now, as the pressure built to such an extreme, Joe Biden is showing us all how to usher in a new era, without destructive drama. Kind of amazing really. He is our father figure, our champion. All this energy can move and we the people (in all our diversity) need to champion the cause whether or not we are ready. It is time.
After the I left that comment, it occurred to me that there's additional irony - she's a woman, a woman of color AND married to a Jewish-American white man.
Oh, surely there are not more enemies within, our over-arching goal is worthy of a little cohesion. Repubs seem to be glued together. We don’t need that but surely a little focus is in order.
I do not feel that Biden was "forced" to drop out but rather he listened to those Democrats calling for him to do so. He took the time to consider and decided to act in a way he thought best. I felt it was abusive to put the weight of the world on his shoulders as if there were no other alternative. I don't like the pressure on those to immediately support Kamala. Give them a few days. Kamala herself has said she is running for the nomination rather than declaring that the nomination is hers! The news has declared that the Democrats are in total disarray but I would suggest thatit is the Republicans who are running around like chickens with their heads cut off! They are demanding that Biden resign now! And finally, I have been nurturing seeds of hope that women of all sizes, shapes and political persuation will come out en masse to support the Democrats. The selection of Vance as vp has lit a spark for me. When I read about him all I can see is a toxic male and caveman with a big club dragging women by the hair back to the stone age. Women are TIRED of being forced backwards and the prospect of the Trump regime is one of even more loss of rights!
I feel he was given the time to make his decision, a decision not up to any other person or group. He was elected president. He rightly refused to yield to pressure and ended up making his decision, not as stubbornness, but through deliberation, evidence, and personal prayers with family and his closest peers and friends. Well done, Joe. Your are loved as man, father, husband, and greatest American senior statesman. Thank you.
And such a perfect vent! I have copied it to remind myself of why we fight. In this fast paced digital age it can be too easy to forget why we do what we do.
I no longer see Biden as a victim, but as a brilliant strategist with his timing two days after the RNC when the party nailed their coffin shut by selecting Vance as VP.
I totally agree. Where trump has been a grifter his entire life, President Biden has been an effective politician. As someone said on another Substack, “Dark Brandon wove a web, and the GOP ran in”. If, in fact, he was forced out by his own party he played it in the best way possible. I have hope for the first time in memory.
Thank you. A first hint of what is to come just occurred on BBC’s Radio Four Breakfast programme. They reported that on a thank you phone call from Trump to the journalist Piers Morgan (who had described Trump as the Mick Jagger of US politics), Trump replied: four months is a long time in politics, I just hope Biden stays in the race for as long as possible.
Thanks, Tom. This is about so much more than beating Trump and Peter Thiel's pet monkey. It's about my soon-to-be-88-year old mother, my gay, trans and gender-fluid friends and relatives, my disabled friends who aren't Tatyana McFadden (I love her and celebrate her achievements), who exist on Social Security, SSI, SNAP benefits, Medicaid and Medicare as well as friends and family, young people who are plunged into life-long debt to attend college for a degree that isn't worth the paper it's printed on anymore. It's about choice. Not just for women, but for everyone. It's about restoring a sense of normalcy, whatever 'normal' means.
Thank you for the Hubbell share, Tom, and for the call to singular action. I also appreciate your earlier post in which you put behind you, and call us to do the same, all animosity toward Dems of record against Biden these past few weeks. Together is Better.
Thank you, TC, and Robert, for the depth of proper perspective you’ve assembled and offered this morning. Whenever Joe Biden said ‘this election is about defending democracy’, of course he was right, but the true impact and import of that phrase always needed to be further unpacked and laid out on the table, as both of you have done.
Everyone we know, every life-form and our planet has much to lose, and much to gain, depending on how well we row together now. Paraphrasing Samantha Power, “Our job is to be good ancestors.”
Your and Robert’s words need to be internalized and called forth repeatedly.
I fervently wanted Joe to remain in the race, but see his unexpected stand down as a selfless, strategic masterpiece. Kamala, whose birthday I get a kick out sharing - my wife’s is the same as Joe’s - offers the possibility of energizing younger voters as Joe might not have.
Outta the park, Tom--I spent some of yesterday being depressed...but I made my 4th (small, because I'm on SS) donation of the month--and this one was to Kamala Harris. Plus, if Biden has endorsed her, she will "inherit" Biden's campaign money...so there is that.
So let's get it together and come out of the huddle swinging for the fences.
My go-to inspirational passage is from LORD OF THE RINGS. It ends with Aragorn saying "We come now to the very brink, where hope and despair are akin. To waver is to fall." They won. So will we.
It did not have to happen, it should not have happened, I am annoyed by those who applaud the man and his work patronizingly and act as though his age and debate performance caused this, as opposed to the billionaire owned media causing it with help from amplified voices and band wagon jumpers... But it Did happen, and maybe given the perfidy and weakness of human nature was the right decision for America.
One would have thought that if everyone is going to be so gung ho for Kamala (who I am certainly impressed by) they would have realized a vote for Biden would also have been a vote for her... except it wasn't about his age (three years older than 45) or solely his debate performance which certainly gave them more ammo (or it would not have been growing since a debate many didn't watch) But it Did happen.
Now we all have to realize that a vote for Kamala is a vote for democracy and a tribute to Biden. Kamala never once hinted, leaked, whispered or implied Biden step down even though she was the most likely beneficiary. A few politicians are once again couching their comments in careful "whoever is the nominee" language but ho boy, not again. It has to be Kamala and it has to be Kamala loud and hard if we're going to make this next hurdle for democracy to stay in the race.
Totally agree and will support every Dem on every ticket. BUT when those who cast Biden to the wolves are challenged in their primaries, I’ll support every last challenger.
Unfortunately the worst offenders don't run in primaries. I can't do anything about the mega-donors who threatened to withhold their $$$. I stopped donating to Democratic Party organizations (DNC, etc.) several years ago but continue to donate to candidates and to organizations like Emerge and (most recently) Leaders We Deserve. And I'm cancelling my Washington "Wall Street" Post subscription. (Cancelled NYT after 2016.) I'll get by with the Guardian and other news sources.
This is the first election I have been excited about in a long time and I am 84 yrs. old! I will do everything I can to help Kamala win so we can beat Trump and P2025!!
Me too.
I’m behind Kamala all the way. She is my first choice for the position
I really hope the country is ready for its first woman President.
I will continue working to defeat Trump and Project 2025 at the ballot box.
Everything else is just background noise.
I’m still reeling, but with a wounded Joe, I feel that the tables have turned. Kick arse Dems, and turn your circular firing squad on the enemy. It’s time for KDay. And don’t screw this up. Sorry, but that has to be said.
And you said it, JD! Though I read Robert Hubble daily and appreciate his apologies when he uses shall we say strong language, I love it. And screw the so-called party leaders. After 60 years as a registered Dem I’m ready again to kick ass! Please don’t screw it up, party leaders.
I have lived through times when I wanted to kick Dems arses. Hopefully not now.
But party rules say that Biden cannot pass his delegates to another candidate, so Harris will have to cement them on her own, as well as the superdelegates, a group of party leaders and former elected officials whose votes carry weight in the convention. As of 10 p.m. on Sunday, she had won 531 of the 1,986 delegates necessary to win the nomination.
Them I do not trust
I hope we Dems have enough sanity to cement her position in a flash as we make clear to the cretins that Dems are not perpetually snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Pray it be so…
It appears to be happening. State delegations are meeting and voting to support Harris.
Can’t happen soon enough.
Not lost on me is the symbolism of Kamala becoming the first woman, and woman of color, as the percents of Whites and White Males inexorably change from majority to minority, likely, in her first or second term as President of the United States. It would be the first time, I believe, that our leadership change is in keeping with who the people are in We The People. A big step forward toward being a nation governed by and on behalf of all it's people, just like the founders wrote in our Declaration of Independence. Let's Make it happen!
Before this happened, I thought we weren't ready, that the prejudices were too entrenched. But now, as the pressure built to such an extreme, Joe Biden is showing us all how to usher in a new era, without destructive drama. Kind of amazing really. He is our father figure, our champion. All this energy can move and we the people (in all our diversity) need to champion the cause whether or not we are ready. It is time.
Chump losing to a women. How can it get better than that. Something to give our all for
Ironic, isn't it?
After the I left that comment, it occurred to me that there's additional irony - she's a woman, a woman of color AND married to a Jewish-American white man.
Yep
I fear the power of the super Delegate club
Oh, surely there are not more enemies within, our over-arching goal is worthy of a little cohesion. Repubs seem to be glued together. We don’t need that but surely a little focus is in order.
I do not feel that Biden was "forced" to drop out but rather he listened to those Democrats calling for him to do so. He took the time to consider and decided to act in a way he thought best. I felt it was abusive to put the weight of the world on his shoulders as if there were no other alternative. I don't like the pressure on those to immediately support Kamala. Give them a few days. Kamala herself has said she is running for the nomination rather than declaring that the nomination is hers! The news has declared that the Democrats are in total disarray but I would suggest thatit is the Republicans who are running around like chickens with their heads cut off! They are demanding that Biden resign now! And finally, I have been nurturing seeds of hope that women of all sizes, shapes and political persuation will come out en masse to support the Democrats. The selection of Vance as vp has lit a spark for me. When I read about him all I can see is a toxic male and caveman with a big club dragging women by the hair back to the stone age. Women are TIRED of being forced backwards and the prospect of the Trump regime is one of even more loss of rights!
I feel he was given the time to make his decision, a decision not up to any other person or group. He was elected president. He rightly refused to yield to pressure and ended up making his decision, not as stubbornness, but through deliberation, evidence, and personal prayers with family and his closest peers and friends. Well done, Joe. Your are loved as man, father, husband, and greatest American senior statesman. Thank you.
Thank you, Kathy, for saying this.
You are welcome. I really needed to vent 😁
And such a perfect vent! I have copied it to remind myself of why we fight. In this fast paced digital age it can be too easy to forget why we do what we do.
I no longer see Biden as a victim, but as a brilliant strategist with his timing two days after the RNC when the party nailed their coffin shut by selecting Vance as VP.
I totally agree. Where trump has been a grifter his entire life, President Biden has been an effective politician. As someone said on another Substack, “Dark Brandon wove a web, and the GOP ran in”. If, in fact, he was forced out by his own party he played it in the best way possible. I have hope for the first time in memory.
Thank you. A first hint of what is to come just occurred on BBC’s Radio Four Breakfast programme. They reported that on a thank you phone call from Trump to the journalist Piers Morgan (who had described Trump as the Mick Jagger of US politics), Trump replied: four months is a long time in politics, I just hope Biden stays in the race for as long as possible.
Within 24 hours Biden stood down.
Trump will be reeling from Biden’s jujitsu move.
Outstanding, TC! Thank you.
Thanks, Tom. This is about so much more than beating Trump and Peter Thiel's pet monkey. It's about my soon-to-be-88-year old mother, my gay, trans and gender-fluid friends and relatives, my disabled friends who aren't Tatyana McFadden (I love her and celebrate her achievements), who exist on Social Security, SSI, SNAP benefits, Medicaid and Medicare as well as friends and family, young people who are plunged into life-long debt to attend college for a degree that isn't worth the paper it's printed on anymore. It's about choice. Not just for women, but for everyone. It's about restoring a sense of normalcy, whatever 'normal' means.
Crying tears of joy this morning!!! Thank you, dear one. xx's
Thank you for the Hubbell share, Tom, and for the call to singular action. I also appreciate your earlier post in which you put behind you, and call us to do the same, all animosity toward Dems of record against Biden these past few weeks. Together is Better.
Thank you, TC, and Robert, for the depth of proper perspective you’ve assembled and offered this morning. Whenever Joe Biden said ‘this election is about defending democracy’, of course he was right, but the true impact and import of that phrase always needed to be further unpacked and laid out on the table, as both of you have done.
Everyone we know, every life-form and our planet has much to lose, and much to gain, depending on how well we row together now. Paraphrasing Samantha Power, “Our job is to be good ancestors.”
Your and Robert’s words need to be internalized and called forth repeatedly.
I fervently wanted Joe to remain in the race, but see his unexpected stand down as a selfless, strategic masterpiece. Kamala, whose birthday I get a kick out sharing - my wife’s is the same as Joe’s - offers the possibility of energizing younger voters as Joe might not have.
Outta the park, Tom--I spent some of yesterday being depressed...but I made my 4th (small, because I'm on SS) donation of the month--and this one was to Kamala Harris. Plus, if Biden has endorsed her, she will "inherit" Biden's campaign money...so there is that.
So let's get it together and come out of the huddle swinging for the fences.
My go-to inspirational passage is from LORD OF THE RINGS. It ends with Aragorn saying "We come now to the very brink, where hope and despair are akin. To waver is to fall." They won. So will we.
The Return of the King is playing on cable now. I suggest it's a very good movie to watch right now, because that's the story we're in now.
I've resisted seeing any of the LOTR movies because I've loved and been rereading the books for so long. (Also I don't have cable, or a TV. <g>)
It did not have to happen, it should not have happened, I am annoyed by those who applaud the man and his work patronizingly and act as though his age and debate performance caused this, as opposed to the billionaire owned media causing it with help from amplified voices and band wagon jumpers... But it Did happen, and maybe given the perfidy and weakness of human nature was the right decision for America.
One would have thought that if everyone is going to be so gung ho for Kamala (who I am certainly impressed by) they would have realized a vote for Biden would also have been a vote for her... except it wasn't about his age (three years older than 45) or solely his debate performance which certainly gave them more ammo (or it would not have been growing since a debate many didn't watch) But it Did happen.
Now we all have to realize that a vote for Kamala is a vote for democracy and a tribute to Biden. Kamala never once hinted, leaked, whispered or implied Biden step down even though she was the most likely beneficiary. A few politicians are once again couching their comments in careful "whoever is the nominee" language but ho boy, not again. It has to be Kamala and it has to be Kamala loud and hard if we're going to make this next hurdle for democracy to stay in the race.
Totally agree and will support every Dem on every ticket. BUT when those who cast Biden to the wolves are challenged in their primaries, I’ll support every last challenger.
Unfortunately the worst offenders don't run in primaries. I can't do anything about the mega-donors who threatened to withhold their $$$. I stopped donating to Democratic Party organizations (DNC, etc.) several years ago but continue to donate to candidates and to organizations like Emerge and (most recently) Leaders We Deserve. And I'm cancelling my Washington "Wall Street" Post subscription. (Cancelled NYT after 2016.) I'll get by with the Guardian and other news sources.
good plan
Hubble and Shakespeare. Damn good combo! Way to go, TC. We now get to work.