When you have to spend three days

[Voltaire2]

explaining what your candidate actually meant and why it wasn’t appalling, and you have to trot out assorted luminaries to vouch for your candidate’s non-appalling intentions, and it is painfully obvious that these episodes are going to happen frequently, maybe it is time to consider a different candidate?

[democratisphere]

1. Cut the crap! Day and night gets real old fast!

Jeebus H.

[emmaverybo]

2. You just cut through the crap. Thank you. NT

[democratisphere]

3. You're Welcome!

[kcr]

72. When the very first post proves the point...

[Peacetrain]

4. You have that one bass ackwards.. when you have to spend 3 days

repackaging the same story.. you might want to consider why you feel compelled to do this..

[mopinko]

7. yeah, but that's the 24 hour news cycle.

how this looks on the teevee machine is not an insignificant consideration.

esp when your big selling point is electability.

that's just the reality.

[Cha]

8. Exactly, Peacetrain.. the M$M and some

are trying so hard to bring Biden down.. and it's not working.

[Skittles]

5. that would seem logical

or at the very least, stop telling us he is the only candidate who could beat Trump

[BootinUp]

44. Ok

But he’d win bigger. Doh. That slipped don’t hurt me.

[BeyondGeography]

51. And then we could spend four years holding our breath

every time he opens his mouth as he enters his early 80s.

[Skittles]

56. we can do better

WAY better

[Demit]

6. Imagine four years of that.

[Mr.Bill]

9. The OP is correct.

The GOP needs to find another candidate besides Trump.

[ucrdem]

10. Boom.

Corrolary: when after 3 days of sweaty swiftboating the boaters are still sinking and the boatee sails on, Teflon intact, maybe it’s time to climb aboard.

[emmaverybo]

11. Ha ha ha! NT

[hedda_foil]

38. There's a very far cry between Joe's self-inflicted wound (minor though it may be) and swiftboating!

Swiftboating is repeating out and out lies about a candidate's history, particularly their primary selling points. Nobody has been lying about what he said and how it came off to many people. His refusal to walk it back or apologize is why it's been a three day wonder. He could have avoided the whole thing by choosing Republican examples to make his point. His staff even warned him about citing these racist segregationist Dixiecrats. As a result, he's had to drag out other politicians to vouch for him, thus prolonging the agony.

[ucrdem]

65. As I recall the SBVT had defenders too in the early days.

I was not among them. And there are still a few who think email-gate and Benghazi were self-inflicted wounds that required only a word from Hillary to make them instantly vanish. I never bought that bill of goods, either.

[hedda_foil]

66. I have never EVER been one of those.

And honestly, I had my doubts about both of these fine people's true electability in the year each was nominated. I just didn't think they fully "got" the mood of the Democratic electorate (including gettable independents) at the time, though I worked and voted for both of them and hoped I was wrong. I have the same feeling about Biden.

I wish my gut had been wrong once or twice but going back to JFK, it's been right every time except possibly for Carter, who I thought would beat Raygun despite his ridiculously bad press. And every one of the nominees I worried about lost even though they were all miles better than their opponent.

[LakeArenal]

77. Says a swiftboater.

[Demit]

80. Are you accusing hedda foil of being a swift boater?

[pazzyanne]

12. Now that's a plan I can support!

[sheshe2]

14. Oh snap!

[left-of-center2012]

13. It's time the other candidates tell us why we should vote for them

And stop attacking other Democrats.

If all you got is:
"Joe did this"
and
"Joe did that" .....

you ain't got nuthin'
and
it sounds so juvenile.

[George II]

17. Bazinga!

[treestar]

46. +1

When you have to spend three days telling us why we should vote against another candidate, you must have nothing going for you - nothing to talk about as to why you should be the nominee.

[left-of-center2012]

61. Elementary school tattle tales

[Drunken Irishman]

15. I'm good but thanks for trying to pick my candidate for me.

[George II]

16. Or, when you find your candidate behind by double digits....

[Cha]

18. Snaps!

[wyldwolf]

60. Most of my online political discourse over the last 4 years has been on Facebook...

... and DU really really needs 'Like' buttons. I keep looking for them.

[George II]

63. I deleted both of our facebook accounts way back when the security issues were exposed.

[JoeOtterbein]

19. So happy to see you point that out Voltaire!

Thanks!

[LibFarmer]

20. How is all this smearing working out for Senator BS? nt

[progressoid]

22. If it's "smearing" you're worried about

why not talk about Harris' and Booker's remarks?

[LibFarmer]

24. They were conned into reacting

but the ut the original smear has David Sirota's fingerprints and DNA on it.

So, my question still is, "How is it working out for Senator BS?"

[marylandblue]

31. They were not conned by Sirota. Harris and Booker are fully independent and capable politicians.

They made their own choices for their own reasons. If you don't agree with them, fine. But don't patronize by assuming they are dupes of a rival operative.

[progressoid]

35. question is also, "How is it working out for Senators Harris and Booker?"

[LakeArenal]

78. Franken swiftboaters

[hedda_foil]

39. This is nonsensical. Ya know, Bernie isn't to blame for everything that happens to your candidate.

Joe did it to himself. Sirota isn't that good.

[treestar]

47. I was just wondering today, it has been 3 years now

and the Disaster has been in the WH, so what happened to the Revolution? I had heard that Dotard would mess things up so badly, the People would come to their sense and demand a Revolution. Where is it happening?

[LibFarmer]

62. There was a massive revolution in the account balances

of people like Cenk Uygur and Saikat Chakraborti. (And perhaps others)

[treestar]

70. LOL

No doubt!

[NYMinute]

21. Don't supporters have anything positive to write about Senator BS?

Instead of constantly looking over Joe Biden's shoulders to see if he is holding his knife in the left hand or if he has properly dropped an aluminum can in a recyclable bin, they could perhaps write more about Senator BS's major accomplishments.

He recently gave a speech that was the best speech since MLK, Jr.'s speech in Washington. There was another speech (or maybe the same one) which was the best speech since the Gettysburg address. (I could pull the links to those but it is Friday night and I'm tired)

Perhaps a few more positive posts about millionaires, billionaires, plutocrats, oligarchs, economic injustice, Medicare for All, raising the minimum wage and all the benefits people will get at no cost might just stop his slide in the polls to single digits.

Wasting time on driving down other candidates' poll numbers is having the opposite effect. Doing it over and over fits one of Einstein's definitions.

[brooklynite]

25. What does Bernie Sanders have to do with this discussion?

[NYMinute]

27. The spin caricaturing VP Biden's remarks was leaked by Sen. BS's campaign

That campaign wants to keep it going ever after it turned out to be another dud.

[Voltaire2]

30. There was no leak, Biden's gaffe was at

a public event. It is one of his standard public event stories, and his staff has begged him to drop it. He made it worse this time with the “he never called me boy” quip, which was a new addition and is what pushed it into a multi day cluster fuck.

This sort of self inflicted nonsense is what Biden is notorious for. He even admits it, he’s a gaffe factory, says so himself.

Blaming other candidates for Biden’s gaffes is ridiculous.

[NYMinute]

32. It was spun in a dark light by Sirota's buddies

at NYT and by Charlie Pierce. Facts are facts.

[Voltaire2]

34. The NYT is not a sirota pr site.

That is a ridiculous theory.

[NYMinute]

36. Sirota has used NYT before for propaganda nt

[Voltaire2]

40. Wow he is very powerful.

Maybe he is the new Soros, huh?

Ridiculous conspiracy theories are ridiculous.

[NYMinute]

58. Not Soros.

A better comparison would be Lee Atwater, Karl Rove or Roger Stone.

[Voltaire2]

67. So that's great then. Both of those

guys were hugely successful getting people elected.

[NYMinute]

69. Yes. And by using dirty tricks. nt

[treestar]

48. Why can't the others leave Biden to his gaffes and campaign

positively for themselves? If Biden is so bad, he will sink when the great qualities of whoever else you are supporting become apparent. Can't they win on their own merits? They have to talk about Biden instead of themselves?

And what if Biden is the nominee? You'll have worked yourself up against him, not want to vote for him, and help us end up with another 4 years of disaster. Maybe the Revolution will really happen then?

[Voltaire2]

49. because they are all competing for the same job.

its politics. And if you think the attacks from his fellow candidates are bad, if he is the nominee the full shitstorm will descend. If he can't handle this, he is doomed.

Every four years I vote for a democratic candidate I have major policy differences with. Don't worry about me, but thanks anyway for your concern.

[treestar]

53. well the others aren't getting their turn in the barrel

to see if they can handle it. Biden has already handled it for years. If that's so important as you say, then why not test them? Where are you threads of attacks on other candidates to vet them for this ability.

Like I said, it would be more persuasive if people talked about why their candidate should win, rather than why Biden shouldn't. Seems they have little to say about why their candidate should and can win.

There are so many negative threads about Biden on the board and hardly any about the other candidates. That makes it appear like we think he is surely going to be the candidate and we have to deal with his gaffes. And the general voters won't care about this kind of thing enough to worry about it. We should plan how we will defend and speak FOR each of the candidates, in case they win the nomination.

I always see this concept of "we want something to vote FOR" by the same who now spend so much time telling us what to vote AGAINST. In the general are they going to rely on what did not work, that is, telling everyone why NOT to vote for the Dotard?

[Voltaire2]

68. Seriously?

Buttigieg is getting hammered for his appearance in Indianapolis.

Sanders gets bashed incessantly for everything conceivable.

Warren has been anointed unelectable.

Nobody is getting a free ride.

[treestar]

71. Talking about DU though

Look at page one DP from yesterday. Biden, Biden, Biden.

[marylandblue]

33. There was no spin. Yes, they took advantage of the situation.

I saw the problem with Biden's remark the second I saw it, before any commentary. A tweet quoting it was posted the same night, shortly after he said it. I saw the problem with it right away, expected the media would make a big deal of it and that political opponents could use it against him.

[brooklynite]

28. What "spin"?

First, what's the evidence that it was leaked by the Sanders campaign?

Second, what difference does it make if they did? Biden said the words he was reported to have said. He then defended them. Trump would have been happy to release the same story if their oppo research got a hold of it.

[Autumn]

42. There is no evidence that it was leaked by the Sanders campaign. nt

[Voltaire2]

50. how does one leak a public speech?

I'm still trying to get somebody to explain this "leak" theory.

[Autumn]

52. I've asked it before and never got an answer. Every time any candidate fucks up in any way

they always post that Bernie was behind it.

[Scurrilous]

23. What a load of @#$%.

[Skittles]

57. nope

the op is spot on

[brewens]

26. At least they don't have to follow him around with a fainting couch. n/t

[MineralMan]

29. More like spending three days conflating what he said

with something horrible.

I know what he said. I still support him. In fact, I'm pretty certain he will be the Democratic nominee. I hope you'll vote for him, if that is the case.

[BootinUp]

37. Maybe

The other candidates will manufacture a controversy on my next choice too.

[Voltaire2]

41. Biden manufactures his own controversies.

He has proclaimed himself a gaffe machine.

"I am a gaffe machine, but my God what a wonderful thing compared to a guy who can't tell the truth,"

https://edition-m.cnn.com/2018/12/04/politics/joe-biden-most-qualified-person-president-2020/index.html

Get used to it. It is what he does.

[CTyankee]

43. That worries me, tho. There are situations internationally where it is hard enough to get through

even with interpreters and I can foresee problems right there...

[Voltaire2]

45. no shit. It is why I think Biden is a potential disaster.

We really can do better.

[BeyondGeography]

55. You're not exaggerating in the least nt

[DCofVA]

64. You're right, Voltaire

If Biden ends up being the nominee, Trump will have an arsenal of material (provided by Biden himself) to use against him. And no other candidate has more baggage than Biden. This is why I don’t support him. I honestly think he would be the easiest candidate (among the front runners) for Trump to beat.

[LakeArenal]

79. Bull. The world stage loves and needs Joe Biden.

Love Pete but speaking many languages is not foreign policy.

[treestar]

54. Once the Dotard was in office, there are no more "gaffes."

The Dotard has done so many. It is looked at as honest. In fact, candidates who don't make any are going to end up being rather dull. Voters don't like platitudes either - which is what most political speeches are full of anyway.

[wyldwolf]

59. to that statement, I'll quote President Obama: 'It's silly season.'

[myohmy2]

73. "...maybe it is time to consider a different candidate?"

...you're right, and now's the time...

...flubbing around for three days is a long time in presidential politics...trump and the pukes would have gaffe field days...issues? what issues? there would be no other issues...

...we can do better...

...

[Voltaire2]

74. We are on day 5.

The trump campaign wants a clown show.

[LanternWaste]

76. And by focusing on the irrelevant, we allow him that clown show.

And by focusing on the irrelevant while pretending it's of concern, we allow him that clown show.

Ironic, no?
(no... of course not. you'll deny the irony while yet supporting it)

[myohmy2]

82. yes...

"...and you have to trot out assorted luminaries to vouch for your candidate’s non-appalling intentions..."

...for me, I would love to see our Nominee fit the Party instead of the Party made to fit the Nominee...it's all part of that, '...play it safe, keep your powder dry' corporate mentality and argument...

...for once, why don't we nominate somebody wild, roll the dice, excite the Party, excite the electorate and bring real change to the working people of our country...

...Joe's a good guy but Joe's had over 40 years to get it right...

...the pukes want Joe and his baggage to hand us another lost election...must we accommodate?

...

[LanternWaste]

75. "...low-income kids so that they're not hanging out on street corners."

"...low-income kids so that they're not hanging out on street corners.”
“...don’t know what it’s like to be living in a ghetto. You don’t know what it’s like to be poor.”
Etc.

This is where the distinction lacking a relevant difference comes into play.

[bluewater]

81. K&R