The situation is actually very simple. First of all, barring something unexpected happening, Biden will be the Democratic nominee. Not everyone may be totally happy with him (though as others have pointed out, he has actually done a pretty good job), but unless he changes his mind on running, the nomination is his for the asking. Second,…
The situation is actually very simple. First of all, barring something unexpected happening, Biden will be the Democratic nominee. Not everyone may be totally happy with him (though as others have pointed out, he has actually done a pretty good job), but unless he changes his mind on running, the nomination is his for the asking. Second, either Biden or the Republican nominee will win the 2024 election. There is zero chance that Cornell West, Larry Hogan, Joe Manchin, or any other candidate that was not nominated by one of the two major parties will win. And we all know who is most likely to be the Republican nominee (though any of them would be an absolute disaster). Since the winner will be either Biden or the Republican, either you vote for Biden or you are okay with all the consequences that will result if the Republican wins, including, most likely, fatal damage to the democratic system and to humanity's chances of avoiding the worst consequences of climate change. If those things don't concern you, then go ahead and vote for someone other than Biden. But if they don't concern you, I have to wonder whether you've actually understood anything Dr. Reich has been saying here.
The Democratic Party is taking a huge risk with Biden/Harris. I am not ok with that. The election will be decided by voter turnout. Looking at the polls it looks like Biden/Harris are uninspiring. I fear the worst will come true. Please do not blame the voters.
Biden has been a good president so far, and while I can think of a few people I'd prefer, none of them have a better chance of winning, and in any case a fight over the Democratic nomination would only help the Republicans. If the latter win the election, there will no doubt be plenty of blame to go around, and the Democratic party will surely deserve some of it if they've run a poor campaign, as will the media for their continued failure to report on Biden's successes and the fascist tilt of the Republicans. But I certainly will blame the voters. If on the one hand you have a decent, competent president who has some real accomplishments under his belt and on the other hand you have a corrupt, authoritarian, narcissistic bigot who was the worst president in US history and tried to overturn a democratic election, any voter who doesn't vote for the former is definitely to blame if the latter wins.
There should be an open primary which would bring the best candidate to be nominated. I have some people in mind who would be great candidates but the vetting process is very important to me. Biden’s approval ratings are way too low to give any assurance that he could win.
There should be, but there won't be, anymore than there was in 1968 when the DNC decided it was Humphrey's turn whether he was popular or not--so people like me thought there "should be" more choice and voted 3rd party--thus ensuring that Nixon got in.
Trump got in the last time because the DNC decided it was Hillary's turn, despite her unpopularity, and did everything they could to tilt the primaries in her favor.
The situation is actually very simple. First of all, barring something unexpected happening, Biden will be the Democratic nominee. Not everyone may be totally happy with him (though as others have pointed out, he has actually done a pretty good job), but unless he changes his mind on running, the nomination is his for the asking. Second, either Biden or the Republican nominee will win the 2024 election. There is zero chance that Cornell West, Larry Hogan, Joe Manchin, or any other candidate that was not nominated by one of the two major parties will win. And we all know who is most likely to be the Republican nominee (though any of them would be an absolute disaster). Since the winner will be either Biden or the Republican, either you vote for Biden or you are okay with all the consequences that will result if the Republican wins, including, most likely, fatal damage to the democratic system and to humanity's chances of avoiding the worst consequences of climate change. If those things don't concern you, then go ahead and vote for someone other than Biden. But if they don't concern you, I have to wonder whether you've actually understood anything Dr. Reich has been saying here.
The Democratic Party is taking a huge risk with Biden/Harris. I am not ok with that. The election will be decided by voter turnout. Looking at the polls it looks like Biden/Harris are uninspiring. I fear the worst will come true. Please do not blame the voters.
Biden has been a good president so far, and while I can think of a few people I'd prefer, none of them have a better chance of winning, and in any case a fight over the Democratic nomination would only help the Republicans. If the latter win the election, there will no doubt be plenty of blame to go around, and the Democratic party will surely deserve some of it if they've run a poor campaign, as will the media for their continued failure to report on Biden's successes and the fascist tilt of the Republicans. But I certainly will blame the voters. If on the one hand you have a decent, competent president who has some real accomplishments under his belt and on the other hand you have a corrupt, authoritarian, narcissistic bigot who was the worst president in US history and tried to overturn a democratic election, any voter who doesn't vote for the former is definitely to blame if the latter wins.
You have to tell us who wouldn't we be taking a huge risk with.
There should be an open primary which would bring the best candidate to be nominated. I have some people in mind who would be great candidates but the vetting process is very important to me. Biden’s approval ratings are way too low to give any assurance that he could win.
There should be, but there won't be, anymore than there was in 1968 when the DNC decided it was Humphrey's turn whether he was popular or not--so people like me thought there "should be" more choice and voted 3rd party--thus ensuring that Nixon got in.
Trump got in the last time because the DNC decided it was Hillary's turn, despite her unpopularity, and did everything they could to tilt the primaries in her favor.