One House Democrat said he spoke for others in the wake of the president’s stunningly feeble debate performance on Thursday: “The movement to convince Biden to not run is real.”

The House member, an outspoken defender of the president, said that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer should consider “a combined effort” to nudge President Joe Biden out of the race.

Crestfallen by the president’s weak voice, pallid appearance and meandering answers, numerous Democratic officials said Biden’s bet on an early debate to rebut unceasing questions about his age had not only backfired but done damage that may prove irreversible. The president had, in the first 30 minutes of the debate, fully affirmed doubts about his fitness.

A second House Democrat said “reflection is needed” from Biden about the way ahead and indicated the private text threads among lawmakers were even more dire, with some saying outright that the president needed to drop out of the race.

  • DancingBear
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    5 months ago

    Stayed mum? They actively fought against allowing anyone to hold primaries.

    • njm1314@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      They did? That’s weird I remember voting in them just like I do every 4 years.

      • Count042@lemmy.ml
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        5 months ago

        You weren’t paying attention. Many states banned anyone else from the ballot, even though there wasn’t cause for that by the rules.

        There were no debates (Something that would have given Democratic party members time to decide if they thought Biden was electable.)

        Some states were told their delegates wouldn’t count.

        There was no fair Democratic Party primary. If you think there was you were either not paying attention, or you didn’t want a fair primary in the first place.

        This problem is a problem of the Democratic Part{EDIT}y’s own making.

      • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Even Russia puts the opposition on the ballot. That wasn’t an election it was a roll call.

          • AdamBomb@lemmy.sdf.org
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            5 months ago

            So that’s the point that DancingBear was making and I was reinforcing- as Democratic voters, we were not presented with a choice this cycle

      • DancingBear
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        5 months ago

        You can generally vote in primaries every year where one is needed, not just every four years fyi, if you’re in to voting and all.

          • DancingBear
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            5 months ago

            Sure but you specifically mentioned it so I wanted to say we can vote in primaries outside of presidential elections

      • bamboo@lemm.ee
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        5 months ago

        Putin also wins by a landslide. It’s easy to do if you ban all the competition.

        • Omega@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          Nobody noteworthy was competing and all of the elections were landslides. I understand wanting to go through the motions in all states, but it really made zero difference.

          • DancingBear
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            5 months ago

            Nobody noteworthy? “Going through the motions”? I guess democracy is just like making love with some kind of boring spouse? Okay, fine by me just don’t blame me when I leave the presidential option blank in November if Biden and Trump are the only two options on the ballot. But I do live in a blue state, Jesus H Christ thank god I can vote my conscious.

            • Omega@lemmy.world
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              5 months ago

              Weird, my conscience is to vote against the corrupt, fascist, rapist with a grudge against America. After dealing with Trump’s presidency and the aftermath, I can’t even imagine not voting for Biden. And I’m in a red state, so my vote definitely doesn’t matter.

              • DancingBear
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                5 months ago

                Well before this we had neoliberals I guess so…. But yes vote… even if you have to leave it blank, vote your conscious…… in a red state I don’t think I could live there, but vote regardless

      • DancingBear
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        5 months ago

        Mmmmm, yea…. Mmmkay. No debates, no media coverage, rarely allowing any primary candidates on corporate media, I’m gonna have to give your statement a mostly false