While I like the Analogy "Biden 2.0" I much prefer Biden 3.2 as in the Beer Alcohol Quotient served at my old Airman Clubs in San Antonio, Tx. Circa. 1973. You had to Consume @ least a 6-Pack to even get a minor Buzz!!! As I'm sure, and presume this Lightweight is as well... I much favor the 5% quotient of ethanol!
Your thoughts about Phillips parallel mine, Bill. A few months ago I was thinking that the establishment's thought-leaders were possibly preparing Newsom for the Plan B role should Biden's stumbles be too collectively debilitating to the D's Presidential aspirations. But It's become more recently clear that at least a fair part of the Dem establishment (and their mouthpieces) may be positioning Phillips for the 11th-hour switcheroo. In addition to articles you cited, I saw this: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63654388 . He's automatically given top billing. Pretty obvious, that.
He might be a good sell with those partisans for whom it's good news that he just wants to carry on BIden's policies- in a younger, less embarrassing fashion. After all, Biden's growing cognitive decline is pretty much the only reason most of them would like to see someone else run. The mass of the partisans seem not to have any real concern about policies- as long as we're all induced to stating preferred pronouns and the gender dysphoric among the young can get free "gender affirming" services. (I know... this is a pretty narrow view of the Party today but it does seem to be the lowest common denominator. I don't see any evidence of a common undercurrent of economic justice domestically, nor certainly, one of peace, international cooperation and anti-imperialism in foreign policy.)
Considering all the turmoil, confusion and indecision along with the fact that whoever both parties decide to run in 24 will be of no consequence, I suggest that we cut to the chase and simply appoint Netanyahu as supreme emperor. It will save the taxpayers from the stress of voting for either a senile demented bully sociopath or a criminally insane sociopathic lier. And save the taxpayers a lot of money in the bargain!
If Dean Phillips is truly more engaging, youthful, and with more intellectual vigor, then he is exponentially more dangerous than Biden. Anyone who could implement a Global Messianic Manifest Destiny policy more effectively would by definition be a greater threat to humanity.
Heir to the Phillips Distilling Company fortune, a position he acquired when his mother married Eddie Phillips after the death of his father. Some years ago I was talking to my then congressman who told me he thought Congress was a bunch of rich people treating their jobs more or less as a hobby. Dean Phillips, we are told, agrees with Biden on everything, certainly the default position of the interchangeable congressmen from the Democratic Party. So he fits right in.
There was also the James Clyburn editorial this weekend on the CNN website, where he warned of the risks of voting for third-party candidates. According to Clyburn, it was Jill Stein that cost Hillary Clinton her "deserved" victory in 2016 by siphoning votes in the upper Midwest - in addition, of course to the unproven Russian interference - but maybe that's what prompted Clinton to call Stein a Russian agent.
Unnamed in the Clyburn editorial was the likely person inspiring his editorial: RFK Jr. (who has lost a good deal of luster for me with his rabid support for Israel). Nonetheless, RFK Jr could pull enough votes to tip the election in what appears to be a 2024 contest that will be decided in a limited number of counties in a very small number of states.
And there's also the Kamala Problem, for which no one appears to have a solution.
Sounds like a reasonable theory to me. Clearly, something is afoot, after David Axelrod recently floated the idea that Biden should step aside. It's unfortunate that there are 3 progressive candidates---Stein, Williamson and West. (RFK, Jr., with his rabid support of the Israeli slaughter, is showing his true colors.) Unfortunately, they will only wind up splitting the progressive vote. It would be far preferable if they could come together and decide to unite behind one progressive candidate. But this is what typically happens, which only helps to ensure continued right wing/neocon control of the Federal government
I was unaware, until reading your comment, that Stein had entered the race. Given the upheaval and too-apparent lack of organization in West's campaign, it seems to me as if West is only running to get a platform for raising issues, perhaps to at least try to stoke debate over, for example, the neocon's wars and foreign policy along with the neoliberals' unrelenting class war on behalf of Wall St. I'm guessing that Stein (and the Greens) won't be satisfied with that limited goal; hence her candidacy, In any case, I like her a lot. I also suspect there'll be at least some earnest discussions between her and West.
I agree- RFK Jr. has lost the potential support of a f Pair number of us and will only serve to further divide the anti-establishment vote (though I think he'd take a fair amount of younger LIbertarian folk away from Trump). As for M. Williamson, I don't really consider her reliably progressive... she may have some such leanings but is unreliable and relatively uninformed. Assuming she stays in the Dem race for a time, I see her playing Mayor Pete.'s role in 2024... gaining some political name recognition and stepping aside at the magic moment to gain a sinecure... maybe a diplomatic post? - if the DP nominee wins.
Don't know how much you hang out in social media, like Twitter, but boy oh boy did I see a slew of comments of supposedly real people announcing their withdrawal of support for RFK Jr because of Israel's genocide.
It was odd. Why are all these people talking about RFK Jr and NOT about the dude who's actually sending the weapons? What about Trump talking with Aipac a week ago, assuring that lobby that he would genocide Gaza even better than Biden?
And you've got Cornel running the first campaign to NOT get elected for president. He bursts on the scene with a unifying message and within two months he's calling Trump a fascist. He has withdrawn his Green Party candidacy, where he had ballot access in 44 states, so he could "run as an independent" No further explanation. Now he's on the ballot in a grand total of zero states.
Per the AP: <<It remains to be seen whether West can gather the tens of thousands of signatures required to qualify for the ballot in crucial states. Without the infrastructure of a formal party, such signature gathering will fall largely to grassroots volunteers.>>
Now let's pretend we're wide eyed youth, looking to volunteer for his campaign. We search cornel in Google, and the top result is www.cornelwest.com
But there's something odd about cornelwest.com. Nowhere on the main page of his website is it mentioned that Cornel is running for president.
Wouldn't that be kinda important? If you'd given up ballot access in 44 states and now you're going to need thousands of signatures in 50 states to MAYBE get on the ballot, and the main page of your website doesn't even mention that you're running for president?
So isn't it convenient, then, that all the youth and leftists who oppose sending bombs to Israel, isn't it convenient that they're only choice is this guy, who doesn't seem to even have a campaign?
Skepticism about West's motives and plans is certainly understandable. I'm not sure it's a rat that I smell, but it sure isn't sweet. I personally doubt his campaign has much at all to do with RFK jr., but who knows? I think West is a guy with great moral principles and the intellect to match, but, having been involved in politics fairly deeply, I think he certainly is filling the novice / rookie part as might be expected. He looks to be way out of his depth.
I should clarify, I don't think West himself is a rat. I think he began his campaign in good faith. I do not think it is currently operating in good faith BUT that is not necessarily West's fault.
There are very powerful people who want the status quo to continue. These people want their profits to continue rising, which means even less money for the workers.
I think that West was given a "talking to" after he announced his candidacy. I don't think he necessarily could have been bought off, but I do think he probably wants to protect his legacy and his family. If he has kids and grandkids, he would want to protect them.
Glad you replied because that is an important clarification. I do not blame West if he changed his tune due to coercion, and seeing as he has a long history of doing good, I think he was forced to change.
Yes, the Cornel West campaign is already in shambles. I don't see how he can get ballot access.
There's Jill Stein of the Green Party. She's got good ideas but basically no chance. RFK Jr. has the most support among alternative candidates; he decided the best way to combat charges he was anti-Semitic was to become virulently pro-Israel no matter what.
Indeed it is. Hey, I found a group you might be interested in. They have some writings on their website. I'm excited about them because it is the first group I've found that is genuinely working to unite workers in the US. I just listened to a recent chat by Caleb Maupin, the group's founder, and they were talking about a pro-Palestine protest they're having, and Caleb said something like, "and everybody, please try not to look woke. We're bringing American flags, etc." He also talked about messaging, and how their message is, "Money for American jobs and schools, NOT bombs for Israel."
Maybe I'm partial to Caleb because I grew up an hour away from him in Ohio. Maybe it's some kind of Midwestern realism. ..
From what I can tell, the group is composed of leftists who are disillusioned by other leftist groups that insist on hating Trump and his followers. This group gives me hope because these people are organizing to actually bring workers together, instead of sucking people in only to hate on half the country.
Here's a link to the homepage, called the Center for Political Innovation:
And here is a link to a good article explaining how the group is unique. These aren't snobby leftists who spend all their time using big words and acronyms. These people are the real deal, the anti-woke, pro-worker organization I've searched for for a long, long time:
Thanks for that clarification. I have no doubt that those with concentrated capital & power operate even more behind the scenes than they do publicly. I don't doubt that when they can't buy off the few altruists that isn't the end of the story. There are lots of ways to persuade that aren't as friendly as bags of cash.
Could West have been made a deal he can't refuse? Possibly; but I certainly can't come to any conclusion.
But one thing I've experienced first-hand is that when running for office, one gets a lot of advice and pressure from one's inner circle - one's 'team'. That includes not only about what messages to convey (and how) but also what NOT to say or do; and in fact, about every single aspect of a campaign. As a candidate, you need that support and want the honest input of those who've been there or whom you otherwise trust. Yet a lot of the time, it can clash with or even override your own instincts and plans.
That West jumped from the People's Party to Green Party and then back to Indie, gaining and losing campaign advisors (Jill Stein) and manager (Peter Daou) along the way, suggests to me perhaps a bit too much of such 'advice', and that at the time of his candidacy announcement, he was simply unprepared for all the intricacies of such a campaign. At any rate, I think this owes a lot more to him than to any nefarious pressures from established power. But again, that's just my semi-educated guess.
And also in any case, you're quite right that to whatever extent a candidate appears to have any serious chance of affecting / interfering with their desired outcome, the DC system will find a way to neutralize that threat. I don't think West was a significant enough worry for them. RFK Jr. might be- mainly because of the power of that name and his support from the libertarian anti-mandate crowd. And that makes me wonder if his strident / almost rabid pro-Israel stance is genuine (if necessarily uninformed and cognitively dissonant) or if it was purely a political calculus.
Yes. I'm a paid subscriber to Aaron Good's American Exception podcast. (It's a good value, btw, in my opinion- more content than other pay-to-play podcasts.)
Aaron has spent years studying JFK and RFK, and US parapolitics. He feels in his gut that RFK Jr is trying to do something different. That he actually poses a threat to the establishment.
I don’t know if he's correct, but I do know that usually when our government or mainstream media dis a person or place, it is because that person is bad for the establishment. And generally if something is bad for the establishment, it's good for normal Americans.
So, who knows, really. You and I can't know, but I enjoy hashing this out with you!
Yeah to echo the last 2 comments, I've heard from Wilmer Leon and Garland Nixon that it's going to be Gavin Newsome (prez) and Gretchen Witmer (vice prez). Leon and Nixon both admit they don't know how the DNC will pull this off, but the two of them are convinced that this will happen.
While I like the Analogy "Biden 2.0" I much prefer Biden 3.2 as in the Beer Alcohol Quotient served at my old Airman Clubs in San Antonio, Tx. Circa. 1973. You had to Consume @ least a 6-Pack to even get a minor Buzz!!! As I'm sure, and presume this Lightweight is as well... I much favor the 5% quotient of ethanol!
"Near-Beer" Biden LOL. Happy Birthday!
Your thoughts about Phillips parallel mine, Bill. A few months ago I was thinking that the establishment's thought-leaders were possibly preparing Newsom for the Plan B role should Biden's stumbles be too collectively debilitating to the D's Presidential aspirations. But It's become more recently clear that at least a fair part of the Dem establishment (and their mouthpieces) may be positioning Phillips for the 11th-hour switcheroo. In addition to articles you cited, I saw this: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63654388 . He's automatically given top billing. Pretty obvious, that.
He might be a good sell with those partisans for whom it's good news that he just wants to carry on BIden's policies- in a younger, less embarrassing fashion. After all, Biden's growing cognitive decline is pretty much the only reason most of them would like to see someone else run. The mass of the partisans seem not to have any real concern about policies- as long as we're all induced to stating preferred pronouns and the gender dysphoric among the young can get free "gender affirming" services. (I know... this is a pretty narrow view of the Party today but it does seem to be the lowest common denominator. I don't see any evidence of a common undercurrent of economic justice domestically, nor certainly, one of peace, international cooperation and anti-imperialism in foreign policy.)
Seems like a fair comment to me, Roger.
Considering all the turmoil, confusion and indecision along with the fact that whoever both parties decide to run in 24 will be of no consequence, I suggest that we cut to the chase and simply appoint Netanyahu as supreme emperor. It will save the taxpayers from the stress of voting for either a senile demented bully sociopath or a criminally insane sociopathic lier. And save the taxpayers a lot of money in the bargain!
Supreme Emperor for Life!
If Dean Phillips is truly more engaging, youthful, and with more intellectual vigor, then he is exponentially more dangerous than Biden. Anyone who could implement a Global Messianic Manifest Destiny policy more effectively would by definition be a greater threat to humanity.
Fair point.
Heir to the Phillips Distilling Company fortune, a position he acquired when his mother married Eddie Phillips after the death of his father. Some years ago I was talking to my then congressman who told me he thought Congress was a bunch of rich people treating their jobs more or less as a hobby. Dean Phillips, we are told, agrees with Biden on everything, certainly the default position of the interchangeable congressmen from the Democratic Party. So he fits right in.
There was also the James Clyburn editorial this weekend on the CNN website, where he warned of the risks of voting for third-party candidates. According to Clyburn, it was Jill Stein that cost Hillary Clinton her "deserved" victory in 2016 by siphoning votes in the upper Midwest - in addition, of course to the unproven Russian interference - but maybe that's what prompted Clinton to call Stein a Russian agent.
Unnamed in the Clyburn editorial was the likely person inspiring his editorial: RFK Jr. (who has lost a good deal of luster for me with his rabid support for Israel). Nonetheless, RFK Jr could pull enough votes to tip the election in what appears to be a 2024 contest that will be decided in a limited number of counties in a very small number of states.
And there's also the Kamala Problem, for which no one appears to have a solution.
I figure the Dem establishment would try and run Newsom. They’re out of luck with Kamala because she’s completely feckless.
You might be on to something. Everyone is looking to Gavin or Michelle
Sounds like a reasonable theory to me. Clearly, something is afoot, after David Axelrod recently floated the idea that Biden should step aside. It's unfortunate that there are 3 progressive candidates---Stein, Williamson and West. (RFK, Jr., with his rabid support of the Israeli slaughter, is showing his true colors.) Unfortunately, they will only wind up splitting the progressive vote. It would be far preferable if they could come together and decide to unite behind one progressive candidate. But this is what typically happens, which only helps to ensure continued right wing/neocon control of the Federal government
I was unaware, until reading your comment, that Stein had entered the race. Given the upheaval and too-apparent lack of organization in West's campaign, it seems to me as if West is only running to get a platform for raising issues, perhaps to at least try to stoke debate over, for example, the neocon's wars and foreign policy along with the neoliberals' unrelenting class war on behalf of Wall St. I'm guessing that Stein (and the Greens) won't be satisfied with that limited goal; hence her candidacy, In any case, I like her a lot. I also suspect there'll be at least some earnest discussions between her and West.
I agree- RFK Jr. has lost the potential support of a f Pair number of us and will only serve to further divide the anti-establishment vote (though I think he'd take a fair amount of younger LIbertarian folk away from Trump). As for M. Williamson, I don't really consider her reliably progressive... she may have some such leanings but is unreliable and relatively uninformed. Assuming she stays in the Dem race for a time, I see her playing Mayor Pete.'s role in 2024... gaining some political name recognition and stepping aside at the magic moment to gain a sinecure... maybe a diplomatic post? - if the DP nominee wins.
I think Cornel West is a foil for RFK Jr.
Don't know how much you hang out in social media, like Twitter, but boy oh boy did I see a slew of comments of supposedly real people announcing their withdrawal of support for RFK Jr because of Israel's genocide.
It was odd. Why are all these people talking about RFK Jr and NOT about the dude who's actually sending the weapons? What about Trump talking with Aipac a week ago, assuring that lobby that he would genocide Gaza even better than Biden?
And you've got Cornel running the first campaign to NOT get elected for president. He bursts on the scene with a unifying message and within two months he's calling Trump a fascist. He has withdrawn his Green Party candidacy, where he had ballot access in 44 states, so he could "run as an independent" No further explanation. Now he's on the ballot in a grand total of zero states.
Per the AP: <<It remains to be seen whether West can gather the tens of thousands of signatures required to qualify for the ballot in crucial states. Without the infrastructure of a formal party, such signature gathering will fall largely to grassroots volunteers.>>
Now let's pretend we're wide eyed youth, looking to volunteer for his campaign. We search cornel in Google, and the top result is www.cornelwest.com
But there's something odd about cornelwest.com. Nowhere on the main page of his website is it mentioned that Cornel is running for president.
Wouldn't that be kinda important? If you'd given up ballot access in 44 states and now you're going to need thousands of signatures in 50 states to MAYBE get on the ballot, and the main page of your website doesn't even mention that you're running for president?
So isn't it convenient, then, that all the youth and leftists who oppose sending bombs to Israel, isn't it convenient that they're only choice is this guy, who doesn't seem to even have a campaign?
I smell a rat.
Skepticism about West's motives and plans is certainly understandable. I'm not sure it's a rat that I smell, but it sure isn't sweet. I personally doubt his campaign has much at all to do with RFK jr., but who knows? I think West is a guy with great moral principles and the intellect to match, but, having been involved in politics fairly deeply, I think he certainly is filling the novice / rookie part as might be expected. He looks to be way out of his depth.
I should clarify, I don't think West himself is a rat. I think he began his campaign in good faith. I do not think it is currently operating in good faith BUT that is not necessarily West's fault.
There are very powerful people who want the status quo to continue. These people want their profits to continue rising, which means even less money for the workers.
I think that West was given a "talking to" after he announced his candidacy. I don't think he necessarily could have been bought off, but I do think he probably wants to protect his legacy and his family. If he has kids and grandkids, he would want to protect them.
Glad you replied because that is an important clarification. I do not blame West if he changed his tune due to coercion, and seeing as he has a long history of doing good, I think he was forced to change.
The last thing DC wants is the people united.
Yes, the Cornel West campaign is already in shambles. I don't see how he can get ballot access.
There's Jill Stein of the Green Party. She's got good ideas but basically no chance. RFK Jr. has the most support among alternative candidates; he decided the best way to combat charges he was anti-Semitic was to become virulently pro-Israel no matter what.
It's a grim political landscape for sure.
Indeed it is. Hey, I found a group you might be interested in. They have some writings on their website. I'm excited about them because it is the first group I've found that is genuinely working to unite workers in the US. I just listened to a recent chat by Caleb Maupin, the group's founder, and they were talking about a pro-Palestine protest they're having, and Caleb said something like, "and everybody, please try not to look woke. We're bringing American flags, etc." He also talked about messaging, and how their message is, "Money for American jobs and schools, NOT bombs for Israel."
Maybe I'm partial to Caleb because I grew up an hour away from him in Ohio. Maybe it's some kind of Midwestern realism. ..
From what I can tell, the group is composed of leftists who are disillusioned by other leftist groups that insist on hating Trump and his followers. This group gives me hope because these people are organizing to actually bring workers together, instead of sucking people in only to hate on half the country.
Here's a link to the homepage, called the Center for Political Innovation:
https://cpiusa.org/
And here is a link to a good article explaining how the group is unique. These aren't snobby leftists who spend all their time using big words and acronyms. These people are the real deal, the anti-woke, pro-worker organization I've searched for for a long, long time:
https://cpiusa.org/articles/we-are-the-city-building-tendency
Thanks for that clarification. I have no doubt that those with concentrated capital & power operate even more behind the scenes than they do publicly. I don't doubt that when they can't buy off the few altruists that isn't the end of the story. There are lots of ways to persuade that aren't as friendly as bags of cash.
Could West have been made a deal he can't refuse? Possibly; but I certainly can't come to any conclusion.
But one thing I've experienced first-hand is that when running for office, one gets a lot of advice and pressure from one's inner circle - one's 'team'. That includes not only about what messages to convey (and how) but also what NOT to say or do; and in fact, about every single aspect of a campaign. As a candidate, you need that support and want the honest input of those who've been there or whom you otherwise trust. Yet a lot of the time, it can clash with or even override your own instincts and plans.
That West jumped from the People's Party to Green Party and then back to Indie, gaining and losing campaign advisors (Jill Stein) and manager (Peter Daou) along the way, suggests to me perhaps a bit too much of such 'advice', and that at the time of his candidacy announcement, he was simply unprepared for all the intricacies of such a campaign. At any rate, I think this owes a lot more to him than to any nefarious pressures from established power. But again, that's just my semi-educated guess.
And also in any case, you're quite right that to whatever extent a candidate appears to have any serious chance of affecting / interfering with their desired outcome, the DC system will find a way to neutralize that threat. I don't think West was a significant enough worry for them. RFK Jr. might be- mainly because of the power of that name and his support from the libertarian anti-mandate crowd. And that makes me wonder if his strident / almost rabid pro-Israel stance is genuine (if necessarily uninformed and cognitively dissonant) or if it was purely a political calculus.
Yes. I'm a paid subscriber to Aaron Good's American Exception podcast. (It's a good value, btw, in my opinion- more content than other pay-to-play podcasts.)
Aaron has spent years studying JFK and RFK, and US parapolitics. He feels in his gut that RFK Jr is trying to do something different. That he actually poses a threat to the establishment.
I don’t know if he's correct, but I do know that usually when our government or mainstream media dis a person or place, it is because that person is bad for the establishment. And generally if something is bad for the establishment, it's good for normal Americans.
So, who knows, really. You and I can't know, but I enjoy hashing this out with you!
Yeah to echo the last 2 comments, I've heard from Wilmer Leon and Garland Nixon that it's going to be Gavin Newsome (prez) and Gretchen Witmer (vice prez). Leon and Nixon both admit they don't know how the DNC will pull this off, but the two of them are convinced that this will happen.
Any American who votes in 2024 for a Democratic Party POTUS is out of their mind!
TRUMP 2024 is the ONLY chance America has of being able to pull out of this graveyard death spiral.
Reminds me of when Reagan replaced Nixon and Goldwater....
You bring up some great points here, Bill. Linking this today @https://nothingnewunderthesun2016.com/