US Presidential Election 2020

[Remius]

Very doubtful that confirming Kavanaugh resulted in any upswing for the Democrats. What it 'did' do was dramatically cause more polarization.

No upswing as far as support goes but donations to the Biden Campaign spiked significantly when Trump announced he would nominate soon.

 

[brihard]

Pence won’t win the nomination.

Agreed. Give the Democrats a nice, simple, Republican establishment “electro-shock the gays” evangelical to campaign against and they’ll rip him apart. Demographics are not on the side of the religious right candidates at the national level. Even in the hypothetical situation of a Trump victory this year, the Republicans will still have one hell of a hangover come 2024, and will face a real challenge in following up on that with their next candidate.

 

[mariomike]

Give the Democrats a nice, simple, Republican establishment “electro-shock the gays” evangelical to campaign against and they’ll rip him apart. Demographics are not on the side of the religious right candidates at the national level.

I  guess  the GOP will "ride or die" with the Trumps ( Daddy, Ivanka, Junior or Eric in 2024 ).

They saw how "traditional" Republicans ( McCain and Romney ) did in 2008 and 2012.

Trivia: As far as religion is concerned, if elected, Joe Biden would be the second Catholic president in US history. President Kennedy,  also Democratic, was the first, and so far, only Catholic president.

 

[tomahawk6]

I voted in person in May with social distancing. No issue. I am leery of mail in ballots which could be lost or stole. The woman who was arrested at the border is charged with trying to kill Trump. Previously she had been arrested in Texas for caring a firearm. This time she had a knife and a fireaem. She thinks lead poisoning may be better than Ricin. She is definitely looking at a long stay in a Federal prison. Perhaps she is mentally unstable which could help with an insanity plea.

 

[Weinie]

I  guess  the GOP will "ride or die" with the Trumps ( Daddy, Ivanka, Junior or Eric in 2024 ).

They saw how "traditional" Republicans ( McCain and Romney ) did in 2008 and 2012.

Trivia: As far as religion is concerned, if elected, Joe Biden would be the second Catholic president in US history. President Kennedy,  also Democratic, was the first, and so far, only Catholic president.

I am willing to challenge you on your guess. No one either directly related to POTUS 45 or by marriage will be a candidate for the Republicans in 2024. I will bet a 24 of any beer you like on this. 

 

[a_majoor]

There seems to be an essential disconnect between what is being reported and actual events on the ground. This report suggests that there is actually no, or at a minimum, an extremely ineffectual Biden campaign being run in Michigan. This does not square with reports of the Biden campaign being up however many points on Trump:

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2020/09/18/this-is-whats-making-democrats-nervous-about-joe-bidens-michigan-operation-n2576430?utm_source=thdailypm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&newsletterad=09/18/2020&bcid=87668faa55a6a656f80b1551842f0d56&recip=25510199

This Is What's Making Democrats Nervous About Joe Biden's Michigan Operation
Matt Vespa Posted: Sep 18, 2020 6:00 AM

It could be that it’s a non-existent operation.

Time magazine said they could really find a field office. There is no army of volunteers. The only way you’d know that Joe Biden was supposedly ahead of Donald Trump here is due to the flawed polling peddled by liberal news outlets. There is no ground operation. That’s an open secret. It’s an open admission by Biden staffers. The lengthy piece does list ‘this, that, and the other’ from other Democrats concerning how the Biden camp is reaching voters in the COVID era. All is well, they say. But there are scores of other local liberal activists and Democratic Party chairs in the state who think that Biden can and should do more. They note the race is closer than the polls suggest—sound familiar—and when Michael Moore is worried—you know there’s something to be wary of as a Democrat. Moore was one of the few liberals who felt that Trump could win, as he is a Michigan native. And he recently fired off a warning flare noting that the polls in Michigan are tightening up and that enthusiasm for Trump is through the roof. For Biden, not so much (via Time):

Four years ago, Don Sabbe made what he calls a “devastating” mistake. Determined only to cast a vote for a candidate he believed in, he left the top of his ballot blank in the 2016 presidential election. This year, the 83-year old former Chrysler employee says he’ll definitely vote for Joe Biden, but he’s getting concerned about Biden’s campaign here in Michigan.
“I can’t even find a sign,” Sabbe says outside a Kroger’s in Sterling Heights, where surrounding cars fly massive Donald Trump flags that say “No More Bullsh-t” and fellow shoppers wear Trump T-shirts for their weekend grocery runs. “I’m looking for one of those storefronts. I’m looking for a campaign office for Biden. And I’m not finding one.”
The reason Sabbe can’t find a dedicated Biden campaign field office is because there aren’t any around here. Not in Macomb County, the swing region where Sabbe lives. It’s not even clear Biden has opened any new dedicated field offices in the state; because of the pandemic, they’ve moved their field organizing effort online. The Biden campaign in Michigan refused to confirm the location of any physical field offices despite repeated requests; they say they have “supply centers” for handing out signs, but would not confirm those locations. The campaign also declined to say how many of their Michigan staff were physically located here. Biden’s field operation in this all-important state is being run through the Michigan Democratic Party’s One Campaign, which is also not doing physical canvassing or events at the moment. When I ask Biden campaign staffers and Democratic Party officials how many people they have on the ground in Michigan, one reply stuck out: “What do you mean by ‘on the ground?'”
[…]
In short, in one of the most important swing states in the country, Biden’s campaign is all but invisible to the naked eye. His lack of a physical footprint is all the more striking because Trump flags festoon everything from pickup trucks to massive airplane parts being transported down the highway. Roughly 30 Trump supporters gathered to protest outside the Biden event last week, waving their flags and cheering as passing cars honked. (Roughly eight Biden supporters showed up.) After driving around some of the state’s swing districts for the past week, talking to than dozens of voters, the only reason you’d think Biden was up in Michigan is because the polls have consistently said so.

Not being there killed Clinton's campaign in 2016, and it looks like the Biden campaign seems to be making the same mistake on steroids - ignoring traditionally "Blue" states in the expectation that they will simply continue to vote fo the Democrats. Given the massive economic changes between 2016 and 2019 (which is what will motivate most voters), along with anger directed at local Democrat mayors and governors for closing their localities for business, I can see this having a significant effect, not just at the Presidential level, but all the way "down-line" as well. Throw in the rapidly shifting Middle East peace process, riots in Democrat cities, China and the Supreme court nomination battle, and even normally apolitical people are going to find their certainties shifted from under them. The Trump campaign is working to take advantage of this, what is the Biden campaign doing, exactly?

 

[mariomike]

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2020/09/18/this-is-whats-making-democrats-nervous-about-joe-bidens-michigan-operation-n2576430?utm_source=thdailypm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl&newsletterad=09/18/2020&bcid=87668faa55a6a656f80b1551842f0d56&recip=25510199

Do you put a lot of faith in "Townhall"?

Overall, we rate Townhall Right Biased and Questionable based on consistent one-sided reporting that always favors the right and numerous failed fact checks.
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/townhall/

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Do you put a lot of faith in "fact checkers"?

 

[Remius]

I do sometimes.

Especially when I look at conservative news sources of articles. 

National Review comes to mind.  While I don’t always agree with their opinions I trust their facts in part because of what media bias has to say about it.

 

[dimsum]

I can't even say I'm surprised at this point.

US election: Trump won't commit to peaceful transfer of power

US President Donald Trump has refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses November's election.

"Well, we'll have to see what happens," the president told a news conference at the White House. "You know that."

Mr Trump also said he believed the election result could end up in the US Supreme Court, as he again cast doubt on postal voting.

More states are encouraging mail-in voting, citing the need to keep Americans safe from coronavirus.

Mr Trump was asked by a reporter on Wednesday evening if he would commit to a peaceful transfer of power "win, lose or draw" to Democrat Joe Biden. The president currently trails his challenger in national opinion polls with 41 days to go until the election.

"I've been complaining very strongly about the ballots," Mr Trump, a Republican, said. "And the ballots are a disaster."

When the journalist countered that "people are rioting", Mr Trump interjected: "Get rid of the ballots, and you'll have a very - you'll have a very peaceful - there won't be a transfer, frankly, there'll be a continuation."

Back in 2016, Mr Trump also refused to commit to accept the election results in his contest against the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, which she characterised as an attack on democracy.

He was eventually declared the winner, although he lost the popular vote by three million, an outcome he still questioned.

[More at link]

https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54274115#share-tools

 

[tomahawk6]

I don't see the media asking Biden if he would concede so why should Trump ?

 

[Brad Sallows]

Well, I suppose the Democrats have so clearly stated they're committed to a peaceful and orderly transition that there's nothing to worry about.

 

[Remius]

I don't see the media asking Biden if he would concede so why should Trump ?

Well Trump has said that the only way he will lose is if the election is rigged.  So it is a fair question. I do not think that Biden has stated that.

Have we ever seen a President be asked that?  Has a President ever claimed what the current one is?

 

[mariomike]

No one either directly related to POTUS 45 or by marriage will be a candidate for the Republicans in 2024.

I just know what I read on here,

And Ivanka has eight years of apprenticeship before succeeding him.

Has a President ever claimed what the current one is?

He is riding a train he can't get off.

After he leaves office, he loses the immunity from criminal prosecution that presidents are granted by Justice Department policy.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Trump-after-surviving-impeachment-could-face-15039866.php

I do sometimes.

Especially when I look at conservative news sources of articles. 

I do too. Especially after a respected member described this site - which we all love - as "a Trump bukkake-fest".

He went on to say,

"I regret (more than you can imagine) that my preference for facts and thinking is at odds with the majority of group-think in this thread.  Yes, I've done a reality-check, wondering if I'm 'the only one in step,'  and while I can understand some of the emotions behind this 'movement' I just can't understand the suspension of thought that embracing it requires (unless that sort of thing was never one's strong suit anyway)."

So, when I see links posted to "articles" from what are clearly alt-right (if that word still exists) propaganda churning disinformation sites, yes, I do question it.


 

 

[Xylric]

I can't even say I'm surprised at this point.

https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54274115#share-tools

It's a game he's better off not playing, in my opinion.

If he says no, he confirms the worst fears of his opponents.

If he says yes, they will assume he's lying anyway.

So not saying anything is his best option.

 

[dimsum]

I don't see the media asking Biden if he would concede so why should Trump ?

Because Biden isn't the current POTUS.

 

[mariomike]

If he says no, he confirms the worst fears of his opponents.

People picturing the end of Scarface? 
:sarcasm:

 

[Brad Sallows]

>Because Biden isn't the current POTUS.

Neither was Trump when a similar question was asked in 2016.

 

[Donald H]

This link belongs both here and on the Belorussia thread.
https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/protests-erupt-in-belarus-amid-secret-inauguration-92450373646

Trump is refusing to step in with an opinion that would energize the protesters in Belorus. Why?

1. Trump is heavily invested in Russia.
2. Trump is being blackmailed by Putin.
3. Trump is supportive of improved and peaceful relations with Russia.
4. ??

#3 above would suggest that his base is in tune with the cry to 'bring all the troops home'. The best opinion I can offer is that it's a combination of all three.

I'll post this link on the Belorus thread as well.

 

[kkwd]

Because Biden isn't the current POTUS.

They are both candidates for POTUS. It is valid to ask that question of both as well as their record, policies and future plans. Here is a Tweet from Sam Stein. Seems if Biden was asked you would be lucky to get an answer at all.
https://twitter.com/samstein/status/1308571710296403969

Sam Stein
@samstein
The Biden campaign’s reluctance to talk to the press is not just annoying (though it’s that), it’s bad for our system of governance (especially during COVID) and has a foul stench of insecurity.
Quote Tweet
Deepa Shivaram@deepa_shivaram
· Sep 22
A reminder that it has been 42 days since Harris was tapped as the VP pick.
There are 42 days until election day.
The senator has not once formally taken questions from the press.