The editorial board of the “paper of record” has called for the Democratic Party to force Biden to withdraw — and they are trying to shift the horserace narrative to whether or not Kamala Harris can win, while they speculate about who else could replace Biden. (Sorry, I’m not wasting gift links on this.)
While they do detail some of the many reasons a second Trump term would be a disaster for the country, if they call on the Republican Party to reject him, I missed it.
It gets worse. Tom Sullivan at Digby’s Place warns about Losing the Plot. Sullivan notes the complicated business of getting on the ballot is not as easy as the press seems to think it is:
...That is why I call it magical thinking to believe that Democrats can simply swap out their presidential ticket in July. It’s not that it cannot happen, but it is a logistical nightmare. It doesn’t matter that France and England can hold national elections in a couple of months, whatever Jon Stewart says. It doesn’t work that way here. Election laws in the 50 states and territories are not set up for it, and GOP-controlled legislatures will hardly be willing to accomodate rival Dermocrats.
emphasis added
Charlie Pierce picks up on a truly bonkers ‘plan’ to replace Biden, involving Oprah and Taylor Swift among other things. Pierce has this to say about the two authors of the plan:
...Brooks is someone of whom I am vaguely aware, especially on the issue of police reform, where she’s done some fine work, and because she is the daughter of the irreplaceable Barbara Ehrenreich. In this, however, she seems to have succumbed to an advanced case of Sorkin syndrome, in which the patient is swept up in a fantasy that there are people of goodwill running politics at the moment. It’s her coauthor who really concerns me. I think American politics would benefit immeasurably if the venture-capitalist crowd would simply leave their checkbooks with the attendants and get the hell out. You made a lot of money? Fine, give us some and there’s the door. These people are suffering from a different strain of Sorkin syndrome. They believe that all that money can make their delusions come to life. They believe that because their money can buy practically everything else, it can also buy political peace and goodwill toward men.
President Joe Biden is the nominee. And if he isn’t, then Vice President Kamala Harris is. Taylor Swift and/or Oprah will not be needed at this time.
I can remember when the saying “Politics is show business for ugly people” could be taken as a joke. It’s gotten to be literal truth with so many in the press acting as though the 2024 election is just another episode of The Apprentice — style over substance.
Sullivan reports that there are Democrats making a point to support Biden and warning that the press is losing the plot in their obsession to drive Biden out. The feeding frenzy of the press is in full cry as they scent blood — even if they have to supply it themselves.
Sullivan shares a Twitter video of MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell calling out the press for their behavior and their willful obliviousness to the difference between how this White House is attempting to deal with President Biden’s health versus the stone wall the Former Guy’s people erected. He specifically calls out The NY Times for deceptive reporting on the Parkinson’s issue. It’s a devastating criticism of the press — and if anyone can find a better link, please share it in comments.
MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell took the reporters to task Monday night.
It’s funny how all of a sudden the mainstream media can’t find enough reasons to praise Biden, even as they try to shove him off the stage. Maybe Biden’s polling numbers would be stronger if they had started giving him the credit he deserves months ago.
Here’s one example which I will share a gift link on: A Remarkable Comeback — “This is the kind of thing that we couldn’t have even dreamed about five or six years ago,” one expert said about changes in some American counties. Biden’s policies are turning things around in some of the most heavily depressed local economies after years of decay — but they are in red state places that will almost certainly fail to give Biden any credit for it. Digby comments on the article —
...Inflation trumps everything else and Biden is blamed for it despite everything else. In fact, if Trump is elected in November, he will be given all the credit and there will be nothing Democrats can do about it. It’s built in….
...It would be nice if the NY Times gave this story more that a few paragraphs buried deep in the paper but from what I understand that’s Biden’s fault for not making more of a big deal about it so never mind.
I posted a comment on the editorial board’s piece, and they finally approved it, around the time they closed comments — hours after I submitted it. Here’s what I said:
And when will the Editorial Board speak the truth to the Republican Party? When are YOU going to call on TRUMP to withdraw?
The press feeding frenzy is insane. The moral cowardice of the media is exactly the kind of thing that enables authoritarians to come to power.
Trump calls you the enemy. He’s not entirely wrong.
I can’t help but wonder if the people at the Gray Lady who screen comments are putting their thumbs on the scales by how long they take before approving a comment. A comment approved shortly after an article appears is going to stand a better chance of being seen, and getting a response. There are 2.7k comments on the editorial. Mine is probably lost in the pile.
The leading reader pick agrees with the thrust of the editorial — but scroll down a little more and there is a lot of pushback on the Times. That is a good thing. More please. Silence is assent. Silence is submission.
Digby quotes Timothy Snyder on how to deal with what’s happening. Read the whole thing.
...It should seem odd that media calls to step down were not first directed to Trump. If we are calling for Biden to step aside because someone must stop Trump from bringing down the republic, then surely it would have made more sense to first call for Trump to step aside? (The Philadelphia Inquirer did). I know the counter-arguments: his people wouldn’t have cared, and he wouldn’t have listened. The first misses an important point. There are quite a few Americans who have not made up their minds. The second amounts to obeying in advance. If you accept that a fascist is beyond your reach, you have normalized your submission.
emphasis added