I try to stay out of intra-Democrat conflict these days, but Biden's defenders underestimate how his age has become a symbol, especially for younger voters, of not just how the party has failed but all institutions.
His refusal to budge validates Trump's "give up and give in" campaign message.
The fascist's best friend is cynicism. When good people believe "they're all corrupt anyway," they peace out of politics, allowing fascists to take over.
To win, Trump doesn't need to convince more people to vote for him. He just needs to convince them not to vote. Biden is helping.
It's not just that Biden is old. It's that the gerontocracy is understood by younger voters, for a good reason, as a form of corruption.
Not financial corruption, but still. Putting your ego needs in front of the country is a form of corruption. It's still greedy.
I was skeptical of the "step down" arguments earlier this year. Now, however, I'm starting to believe it may be the only way for Democrats to demonstrate good will and to prove that they do believe what they say: That beating Trump is the most important thing.
For a normie, it's just hard to believe that Democrats think Trump is that much of a threat to democracy. Because, if he was, they'd have run a candidate who had basic skills like completing thoughts while speaking or going on the attack when necessary.
It is what it is.
Anyway, I have no faith that Biden will step down. But he should. Failure to do so sends a strong message: "Actually, we don't care about the country. The egos of our elderly leaders come first. So don't bother voting."
And that is hard to argue against with young people. Just try, you'll see.
Biden defenders point out, correctly, that Trump lied 30 times or so during a 90 minute debate.
But I think they're failing to understand voters feel Biden told a *massive* lie. A *fundamental* lie: That he has got this.
They feel betrayed. Hard to call Trump a liar when that's in the mix.
Anyway, I agree that Biden won't step down. But he should.
In not stepping down, he proves why he should: Because he is not capable of setting aside his ego to save our democracy.
Biden isn't staying in because of his ego, but because he isn't at all convinced that bowing out increases the Dems' chances of winning **at this point**. I'm not convinced, either.
Agree. Lots of candidates look *perfect* until they are actually campaigning. Kamala was my favorite at one point in 2016 and then she had a really weird debate and tanked. If there were any Democrat polling better than Biden he might have already dropped out.
I am not at all certain about this! But the people who I follow who know the most about the American political system down to the nuts and bolts are precisely those most skeptical that Biden withdrawing would increase the Dems' odds.
You're not wrong about cynicism; it's got me already (though I'm still voting). I wouldn't recognize the Democratic party if they followed through on a massive change thats obvious necessary.
Hard agree, but the reality is he should never have run in the first place. And he did. So I'm very skeptical he will do the right thing, unless people around he respects(like Obama) strongly urge him to step aside.
Even if he DID step down the machine would want him to do it in favor of the person whose “turn” was next. But nobody’s much interested in their bench.
