US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

[EnterpriseSovereign]

I remember in the build-up to the last election they were claiming that Biden probably wouldn't run for a second term if he does become president, and that if he dies in office POTUS would be a black woman. Now it's looking like it's more like that he shouldn't run, not that he wouldn't.

[Elfdart]

Would they lose more than the percentage who refuse to vote for her because she's a cop? Because I've seen a whole lot more comments about that than her representing black women.

I'm not ruling it out but it's non-obvious enough that I'd want to see some sort of proof either way.

Most of the "Harris is a cop" crowd is voting for Cornell West, Jill Stein or stay home and stream so it's at most a marginal part of a marginal group. Harris has one advantage, as Kate Willett points out:

Kamala has one thing going over Biden which is that she is a careerist who would want young people to give her a second term. I don’t think this woman has any real beliefs (she changed her Medicare for All position 3x in a few months!) but she wants to win.

Which is more than can be said for Biden. The race was his to lose and he's done his best to lose.

[bilateralrope]

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he 'won't take sides' on what happened on 9/11

The independent presidential candidate made the remark in a social media post, later saying that he was referring to "possible Saudi involvement" in the 2001 terror attacks.

July 6, 2024, 9:26 AM GMT+12
By Dareh Gregorian

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted on social media Friday that it's "hard to tell what is a conspiracy theory and what isn’t" when it comes to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"As President I won’t take sides on 9/11 or any of the other debates. But I can promise is that I will open the files and usher in a new era of transparency," Kennedy said in a post on X. He followed that post a short time later with another saying that he was referring to an almost two-week old segment on CBS's "60 Minutes" about possible Saudi involvement in the 2001 terror attacks on the United States.

The segment, Kennedy wrote, was "sparking all kinds of speculation on X."

In a third post about an hour later, he wrote "speculation about what our government may be covering up is rife outside the mainstream of our political culture" and the way to restore trust "is through honesty and transparency. That is my promise, and that is what will resolve any questions about 9/11, [unidentified aerial phenomena] and other contentious topics. I am personally agnostic on those issues."

Kennedy's campaign did not comment on the "sides" he was referring to in his tweet, or what other "debates" he was referring to, beyond pointing to his post on the "60 Minutes" report.

The U.S. government has said Al Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden were behind the attacks. The 9/11 Commission said in its report that it didn’t find evidence that Saudi leaders were complicit, but did find Saudi nationals played key roles in funding Al Qaeda.

A group of 9/11 families have sued the Saudi government over the the deadliest terror attack in U.S. history. Fifteen of the 19 terrorists involved in the attack were Saudi citizens, and bin Laden was born there. The Saudi government has denied any involvement.

The "60 Minutes" report focused on a recently unsealed video of a Saudi intelligence officer filming the U.S. Capitol in 1999.

Kennedy, who has spread anti-vaccine conspiracy theories for years, has previously leaned into more controversial 9/11 conspiracy theories while maintaining he has no position on them.

"There's strange things that happened on 9/11," he told author Peter Bergen's "In the Room" podcast in September of last year. “I don’t know what happened on 9/11. I mean, I understand what the official explanation is, I understand that there is dissent. I have not looked into it. I haven’t examined it. I’m not a good person to talk to about it,” Kennedy said, according to an account of the interview in The Guardian.

Kennedy then pointed to a building that had suffered damage in the attack and later collapsed after uncontrolled fires, suggesting it was mysterious. The collapse has been frequently cited by conspiracy theorists who claim it was a controlled demolition or some kind of inside job.

“I mean, listen, I don’t want to argue any theories about this because all I’ve heard is questions. I have no explanation. I have no knowledge of it," Kennedy said of the collapse, which he'd referred to as "strange."

Kennedy, who has also blamed the CIA for killing his father and uncle, previously appeared as a guest on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' 'Infowars' show. His running mate, Nicole Shanahan, is also a vaccine skeptic, and praised Kennedy in a Newsweek interview for taking "vaccine injuries seriously."

Kennedy isn't the only 2024 presidential candidate to have suggested the events of 9/11 are still unknown.

In 2022, former President Donald Trump cast doubt on any connection between Saudi Arabia and the 9/11 terrorist attacks when he defended hosting a Saudi-funded tournament at his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.

“Well, nobody’s gotten to the bottom of 9/11, unfortunately, and they should have,” Trump said at the time.

A year later, former Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy told The Atlantic, "I want the truth about 9/11.”

“I think it is legitimate to say how many police, how many federal agents, were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers. Maybe the answer is zero. It probably is zero for all I know, right? I have no reason to think it was anything other than zero. But if we’re doing a comprehensive assessment of what happened on 9/11, we have a 9/11 commission, absolutely that should be an answer the public knows the answer to,” Ramaswamy said then.

He endorsed Trump after dropping out of the 2024 race.

This is the third place candidate. The brain worm guy.

Hopefully someone can get him talking about Obama's birth certificate in October.

[Solauren]

How well would he do if he replaced Biden on the Democratic ticket?

[bilateralrope]

How well would he do if he replaced Biden on the Democratic ticket?

I've only seen one clip of RFK Jr speaking. Based on that, anyone who wants to replace Biden for health reasons is going to have a very hard time justifying RFK Jr as the replacement. Then we get to the brain worm, which was likely killed by how much mercury he had in his system at the time.

As for his policy, he's an antivaxer. His statements on abortion have been all over the place, to the point it surprised his running mate. Also the rest of the Kennedy family opposes his run.

[Mr Bean]

How well would he do if he replaced Biden on the Democratic ticket?

I've only seen one clip of RFK Jr speaking. Based on that, anyone who wants to replace Biden for health reasons is going to have a very hard time justifying RFK Jr as the replacement. Then we get to the brain worm, which was likely killed by how much mercury he had in his system at the time.

As for his policy, he's an antivaxer. His statements on abortion have been all over the place, to the point it surprised his running mate. Also the rest of the Kennedy family opposes his run.

So RFK is famous/infamous for having the entire Kennedy family come out for Biden as a direct condemnation of RFK. Dig into RFK at all and you'll find fun things like him claiming Vacinees cause autism or that COVID-19 was a Dr. Anthony Fauci/Bill Gates plot to sell Vaccines. January 6th was not that bad..

Listen lots of family have the one super out of touch loudmouth at the Thanksgiving table and for the Kennedy family it's RFK.

[Zaune]

As someone who very definitely does not buy the wilder 9/11 conspiracy theories but is... shall we say open to persuasion... that some weaponised incompetence was going on, I don't quite know how to feel about that.

I do feel a bit sorry for RFK Jr though. Up until whatever actually happened to him in 2010 he was doing a lot of very worthwhile environmental activism, and might even have been a decent candidate.

[Gandalf]

In a time where it is imperative for Biden to show he's up for the task of foreign policy after the sun goes down, he referred to Zelenskyy as Putin.

He may have done everything else correctly at the NATO summit, but wow is that a bad look.

Politico

[bilateralrope]

How long until Trump announces his VP pick ?

Because it occurs to me that if Biden is planning to drop out of the race, waiting until after Trump picks his VP is probably a good idea.

[Tribble]

How long until Trump announces his VP pick ?

Because it occurs to me that if Biden is planning to drop out of the race, waiting until after Trump picks his VP is probably a good idea.

Well according to Biden he’s also running as Biden’s VP

“Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice-President Trump to be vice-president if I didn’t think she was qualified to be president,” he said.

People who say that it isn’t fair to criticize Biden’s gaffes while ignoring Trump’s incoherent ramblings are absolutely right.

They are also completely missing the point - from an optics standpoint and voting standpoint it doesn’t matter.

Trump supporters want a madman in office to burn the whole thing down, so Trump’s rantings don’t bother them much because it’s expected that a madman is sometimes, well, mad.

Meanwhile Democrats want a competent president and whether they like it or not Biden comes across as senile.

Even if Biden is right in that he is the only person that can beat Trump this election, that’s largely because he refused to step aside and give a successor a chance! Should he step down now it’s not clear whether that would make any difference.

Biden’s actions don’t excuse Trump’s behaviour, but if Trump wins Biden well go down (rightly or wrongly) as the senile old president whose ego cost his party the election and his country its democracy.

[Ralin]

Meanwhile Democrats want a competent president and whether they like it or not Biden comes across as senile.

I think it's more that Democrats want a president who is, in descending order

Not Trump

Will not make them have to constantly think about politics

Will actually do some good things in office.

[Darth Yan]

Biden's refusal to call Israel to account is hurting him. A lot of undecideds take that seriously and Biden defending Bibi's genocide is hurting him.

[Elfdart]

His goose was cooked before his meltdown on CNN and was ready for the roasting pan before the Gaza Genocide. About the only thing that could save us from Cheeto Mussolini's second term is if Biden drops dead in the next six weeks -which would also save Biden's reputation.

[Gandalf]

In great news for the Angry White Guy voting bloc, JD Vance is Trump's VP candidate.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Donald Trump's classified documents case dismissed by judge

A US judge has dismissed the classified documents case against Donald Trump.

In a ruling on Monday, federal Judge Aileen Cannon granted the defence motion to dismiss the case on the basis the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith violated the Constitution.

It marks a major victory for the former president, making it the first time one of his four criminal cases have been thrown out of the courts.

The decision can be appealed and be overruled by a higher court.

Defence lawyers filed multiple challenges to the case, including a legally technical one that asserted that Smith had been illegally appointed under the Constitution's Appointments Clause, which governs the appointment of certain government positions, and that his office was improperly funded by the Justice Department.

Smith's team had vigorously contested the argument during hearings before Cannon last month and told Cannon that even if ruled in the defence team's favour, the proper correction would not be to dismiss the entire case.

The order is the latest example of Cannon, a Trump appointee, handling the case in ways that have benefited the ex-president.

She generated intense scrutiny during the FBI's investigation when she appointed an independent arbiter to inspect the classified documents recovered during the August 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago, a decision that was overturned months later by a unanimous federal appeals panel.

What was the classified documents case?

Prosecutors had alleged that Trump was hoarding confidential documents at his Mar-a-Lago home and had asked a member of staff to delete camera footage at his Florida estate in an effort to obstruct the federal investigation into his possession of the files.

Trump has previously denied any wrongdoing

Simply disgusting.

[Elfdart]

Anyone who was hoping the courts would save the country from Trump is as delusional as the middle-aged schlub who thinks the college girls at the local strip actually want to give him lap dances whether he pays or not. The reason Biden is in the deepest of deep shit is that his re-election was based on three assumptions:

1) The people who turned out in 2020 would do so again no matter what, so no need to do anything for them.

2) The courts would kneecap Trump by keeping him off the ballot or throwing him in jail.

3) Any proxy wars would be wrapped up successfully by October 2024.

He's 0-3.

[bilateralrope]

Donald Trump's classified documents case dismissed by judge

A US judge has dismissed the classified documents case against Donald Trump.

In a ruling on Monday, federal Judge Aileen Cannon granted the defence motion to dismiss the case on the basis the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith violated the Constitution.

It marks a major victory for the former president, making it the first time one of his four criminal cases have been thrown out of the courts.

The decision can be appealed and be overruled by a higher court.

Defence lawyers filed multiple challenges to the case, including a legally technical one that asserted that Smith had been illegally appointed under the Constitution's Appointments Clause, which governs the appointment of certain government positions, and that his office was improperly funded by the Justice Department.

Smith's team had vigorously contested the argument during hearings before Cannon last month and told Cannon that even if ruled in the defence team's favour, the proper correction would not be to dismiss the entire case.

The order is the latest example of Cannon, a Trump appointee, handling the case in ways that have benefited the ex-president.

She generated intense scrutiny during the FBI's investigation when she appointed an independent arbiter to inspect the classified documents recovered during the August 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago, a decision that was overturned months later by a unanimous federal appeals panel.

What was the classified documents case?

Prosecutors had alleged that Trump was hoarding confidential documents at his Mar-a-Lago home and had asked a member of staff to delete camera footage at his Florida estate in an effort to obstruct the federal investigation into his possession of the files.

Trump has previously denied any wrongdoing

Simply disgusting.

I can't see that dismissal surviving the appeals court. Which likely also means a different judge taking up the case.

Until Trump appeals it to SCOTUS.

[Marko Dash]

With Biden's health concerns and Trump's legal issues, how funny would it be if both parties had to scramble to put forth 11th hour replacement candidates.

[Gandalf]

Apparently Biden just tested positive for COVID, so there is an out for him.

[muse]

I think god is trying to send a message, but I don't think Trump, Biden, or their parties have received it...

[bilateralrope]

With Biden's health concerns and Trump's legal issues, how funny would it be if both parties had to scramble to put forth 11th hour replacement candidates.

Right now the RNC is happening. At some point, which might have already passed, they will lock in their candidates to be Trump and JD Vance.Trump isn't going to step down, because the presidency is the only thing that can keep him out of prison. But if he is somehow removed, that makes JD Vance their candidate. They have no other legal options unless SCOTUS gets involved.

As for the democrats, they still have the problem of their delegates being bound to vote for Biden. So Biden has three choices:
- Stay in the race
- Wait until he's confirmed then step down to be replaced by Kamala Harris
- Release the delegates sooner. Which seems like a bad idea unless the party has united behind a replacement that Biden approves of. Also this comes with the stink of the democrat party overruling the primary voters who voted for a Biden/Harris campaign.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi question Joe Biden's election path to victory

Former US president Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi have called into question Joe Biden's path to victory in November's presidential election, sources say.

Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, has warned that Biden's candidacy could prevent the Democrats from winning the House, according to the Associated Press.

The Washington Post has reported that Obama believes Biden, who was diagnosed with Covid on Thursday, should reconsider his chances of winning the election against Donald Trump, as they have declined.

It comes as Biden's health and age have been heavily scrutinised, following his disastrous head-to-head debate with Trump last month.

Pressure has continued to grow on the US president after he made several gaffes during the recent Nato conference, where he introduced Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "President Putin".

Obama is reported to have recently engaged in calls with anxious Democrats, including Pelosi, and shared views about Biden's challenges.

The 62-year-old is alleged to have said he "feels protective" of Biden and that he has been a great president.

But he is said to be particularly concerned with polling data that shows Trump's path to electoral victory is expanding.

Pelosi is reported to have taken an active role behind the scenes in the Democratic Party to thwart Biden's efforts to end the debate about his electability.

Twenty Democratic members of Congress have now called on Biden to withdraw from the presidential contest.

Biden has consistently insisted he will not stand down and, when pressed about reports that he might be softening to the idea of leaving the presidential race, his deputy campaign manager, Quentin Fulks, said "he is not wavering on anything".

The vultures are circling.

[muse]

I did not have Hulk Hogan and Trumpomania on my RNC convention bingo card.
Do I even want to ask what's going? What kind of drugs are you mainlining?

[EnterpriseSovereign]

That seems to be the theory for the rambling incoherent nature of Trump's speech

[bilateralrope]

I've seen a few articles saying that, because Trump refuses to release his medical records, we don't know:
- If Trump was hit by shrapnel or a bullet
- If he received any injuries beyond the damage to his ear. But I've seen some speculation about a concussive effect from a bullet passing that close to his head.
- What treatment he has received. Including painkillers.