Please be gentle, this is my first story. I have been a lurker for years, but this Democratic pie fight over the debate got me thinking.
I watched the debate and cringed along with many of you. I cringed at the elevation of both-sider-ism. Literally, equating a pack of lies with heartfelt truth on a split screen. I cringed at Biden trying to go too fast and fit too much in, while attempting to respond to Trump’s use of the Gish Gallop.
I think that people saw the same debate but literally did not see the same debate performance. Just like with that dress in 2015, a person’s interpretation of what they saw was colored by factors outside of their awareness.
So, what did I see? I saw an old man, in fact 2 old men. I saw that Biden was ill and chose to debate anyway, otherwise be called a coward for backing out of the fight he instigated. I saw a speaker whose microphone was poorly adjusted. I saw a man who was poorly prepared by his debate staff, ready to debate an opponent he wasn’t facing. You cannot counter a firehose of falsehood with facts. This shouldn’t have been a surprise. I literally saw a bad, one off performance.
What did other people see? They saw (based on my reading) proof of a candidate in serious decline. They saw a campaign that is trying to hide this decline and has been lying to the people about his fitness. They saw yet another reason to distrust Biden, especially after his poor handling of the I/P genocide.
Now both views have had their existential dread triggered. One group feels there is no way Biden can win, so we must find “someone else” or we lose. The other view sees we must be united behind our candidate or we will lose.
Here are some hard truths. We MUST unify behind a candidate. That candidate MUST have the trust of our voters.
Biden is staying in the race. He will not bow out. Even if he did, there is no credible replacement except Harris. No one else has the interest, money or delegates in time for the election. The GOP will eat us alive if we go the contested convention route, given the narratives in the MSM. Names must be named or it is just wish fulfillment.
Here are some legitimate (rhetorical) questions to those of you who saw the debate as proof of decline and to those who saw a one time disaster. In no particular order.
Where do you want to spend your energies now that Biden has refused to drop out?
What will it take to get you back on board? A full medical report would be a start.
How much of your position is related to your disappointment in Biden’s failures of ethics in world politics?
How much is your worry that the Sleepy Joe narrative is true, or could be perceived as true by fence sitting voters?
What can you do to beat Convicted Felon Trump that doesn’t feed the narrative of “Democrats in Disarray”?
What is your GOTV plan?
How are we prepared for the GOP rat fucking?
How are we prepared for the inevitable refusals to certify?
How are we prepared for vote counting challenges?
Who are we if we cannot unify against the greatest existential threat of our lifetime?