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Borrowing from George W. Bush at the outset of the Iraq War: "Either you are with us; or, you are against us." No thank you, Joseph Robinette Biden! Biden should put country first. Not Biden first.
In a different context, this election is existential for each of them. I have never been a fan of Joe Biden's but I can muster some sympathy for him. The man has clearly been in decline since before 2019. The public saw it, which means those around him saw it too. The media and everyone around him have gone to beyond great lengths to protect him, praise him and enable him. They don't give him news that upsets him because he doesn't handle it well. And now the knives are out, piercing the delusional bubble they created for him. They used him up and are now spitting him out. He's getting lots of bad news from his protectors, and his reactions are not surprising.
This a false equivalence. To say that Biden is even remotely similar to Trump (drug addled, incompetent, morally bankrupt and truly dangerous to democratic principles/rule of law) is frankly ridiculous. The hand wringing over Biden is the real threat to this election. He doesn’t need to walk and talk like a 30 year old to be effective in office. I may not agree with everything he does, and on a few topics I seriously disagree, but I’m appalled at the double standards and ageism I’m seeing in the media. I didn’t expect to get it here too. The way the MSM is talking to and about Biden is disgraceful - nothing he provides will be enough to quell the overblown fears of the beltway elites and naysayers, who’ve been lying in wait to see him stumble and harping on every little thing while downplaying Project 2025 and depositions from Trump’s victims in the Epstein cases. Enough already. If Biden gets sick or can’t function, Harris will step in and keep things moving. That’s how this is supposed to work. Have some bloody faith. Or did you just dislike Biden from the get-go?
Still, you are right. There are people who are screaming about democracy while being fine with undermining it. Of course, I knew you would get this reaction. I'm sure you did, too.
I appreciate your work, and I’m aware of the disclaimer, but your point seems to have been that Biden has shifted to adopting Trump’s tactics of fear mongering and bluster. I do not see it that way at all. I also wonder which legal experts you’re listening to when you make the bold claim that the recent SCOTUS opinion doesn’t amount to much.
As a lawyer who has been watching SCOTUS for 30 years, I can tell you that this is the most dangerous, egregiously activist decision I have ever seen. It will go down in legal history as perhaps the worst, most corrupt decision ever rendered. I don’t exaggerate when I say that we ought to be terrified of the ramifications of this made-up immunity from criminal prosecution. It is nowhere in the Constitution and has NEVER been given to any President in history. Not only does it confer absolute immunity for crimes committed during acts falling under the “core” functions of the President, it essentially prevents any future prosecution for “unofficial” acts, since any evidence of motive for a President’s alleged crimes is not allowed to be sought or used. The coded language used in this opinion hamstrings the government from reining in any future executive actions and effectively creates a pseudo monarchy. A person like Trump now has license to violate any and every criminal law on the books to accomplish his personal vendettas and protect his co-conspirators. He can sell pardons or state secrets, order hits on his enemies, round up people to imprison and execute, whatever he wants and who has the power to stop him? No one, except Congress, which has failed to effectively put country before party in every impeachment proceeding since Nixon. The only other mechanism to limit the power of the executive branch has been eliminated with this decision and the one that just decimated Chevron (shifting agency regulatory powers to the federal courts). There are no more checks or balances on the Presidency, and the 3 branches of government are no longer co-equal. We are now reliant on the goodwill of the officeholder. Terrifying.
Fair point re evidence not being allowed to be used — if I recall correctly, that was something even Coney Barrett joined the dissent on. I'll append an update.
hey, you should look on the bright side. now when your preferred-commander-in-chief goes around congress to send weapons to Israel, he doesn't even need to have a 1% worry that anyone could theoretically hold him accountable. official acts of genocide ftw!
Sarcasm? This is too important for that. I’ll never understand why people online will make assumptions and take shots at strangers about things that weren’t even mentioned.
Biden is not my preferred President. He is the nominee for the Dem party and is the best chance for avoiding another catastrophic Trump term, IMO. You obviously disagree and probably believe that your preferred candidate is morally superior and therefore, should be hastily put forth so we can all make the world a better place. That would be fine with me, but for a few ancillary issues. Whoever is elected has to contend with Congress, the State Dept, the military industrial complex, our allies and enemies, our economy, our intelligence community, etc. The US is obligated through a web of prior treaties, agreements and the like to honor its contracts, MOUs, etc to our allies, a group that still includes Israel. Say what you like about Netanyahu and his criminal far right cronies, but the citizens of Israel are not at fault, any more than the unfortunate people of Palestine are responsible for the atrocities of Hamas, who has vowed to destroy Israel. Whoever we elect has to work within the narrow confines of the law, with an understanding of the past and an eye toward the future.
If you think that the POTUS (whoever it may be) can just ignore all of this and unilaterally halt all military aid to Israel, you need to learn about how this stuff works. The US is obligated by the terms of an MOU signed in 2016 that is in effect through 2028, to provide $38B in aid to Israel, subject to appropriations. Biden didn’t sign it, but he has to meet the obligation. Theres so much more to it, but the sad part is I agree with you that Israeli leadership needs to stop committing war crimes against the Palestinians. It’s just not as simple as people think to use leverage against an ally nation that has nukes and simultaneously avoid destabilizing the region and the world. The desire for easy solutions is what led to the cult of MAGA and the desire for a dictator POTUS who doesn’t need to worry about pesky details like laws, contracts, stability, voters or justice. They can just do what they think is right without regard for consequences. I didn’t really want Biden to be that person, and I’d like for him to do more than he has to curb Israeli leadership, but I also understand and respect the legal processes operating here. The US can’t just default on its pledges without wreaking havoc for ourselves and others. Not to mention the fact that Netanyahu is another Trump in sheep’s clothing - desperate, deceptive and unmanageable. Who would do better? You don’t bother to say who should run in Biden’s place or how that would happen or even how your preferred candidate could win, so I’ll stick to what I see as the best option.
Finally, sending military aid to an ally is not a crime, even if they commit crimes with it, so the BS conferring of absolute presidential immunity wouldn’t apply to Biden. I guess we can always debate whether we accept the prospect of Biden committing crimes to reduce the scale of suffering and death resulting from a Trump win. Seems like a very slippery slope.
Sarcasm is rooted in an understanding of a fact that you're attempting to ignore with long and unimportant replies.
This election is over. Its been over for years. I'm not happy about it, but what can I do? Better yet, what can you do, Lawyer? You got a plan? Or just replies? I don't have a "morally superior" candidate and if I did... doesn't matter. Because the election is over.
Do you understand that the election is over? Or do you honestly think that a President who polls in the 30's has any chance at all of winning? If you do, you should consider going back to school and taking a couple of statistics courses. Or history courses. It has never happened and I'll be damned if President numb-nuts is going to be the first.
Ok that’s actually funny, but no, I’m not in a cult. I don’t think god sent Biden to lead us all to the Rapture and I’m not a delusional believer of conspiracy theories. I wasn’t even that thrilled with him as President at first, but he’s done better than I’d hoped for on a range of issues that we likely agree on. I also accept that he won a primary election with a large majority of votes and there is no mechanism to deny a place on the ballot to a fairly elected nominee. None of the other possible candidates being floated by the MSM have much chance of beating Tangerine Palpatine either, like it or not. If Biden is unable to fulfill his duties, the VP will take over. Anything but Trump. Read up on Project 2025. This has been in the works for 40+ years. They are so close to realizing all their christofascist dreams, but they got over confident and put their plans in writing. Now the normies are noticing - oops!
Project 2025 is sitting on my bookshelf. These people have not read it. It's 4 or 5 INCHES thick! It's literally the Conservative wishlist of crap and has been forever. I doubt very seriously Trump has read it, much less endorsed everything in it. He's just not that Conservative, never has been. He's a populist. I think Harris should have already been sworn in. I don't, however, think they should string Biden along, hope he gets elected and then swap Harris in. That's not democracy. She should run on her on merit and likeability. Biden is non compos mentis and allowing him to remain for another 6 months is irresponsible and dangerous to the country. There's a reason we have a Vice President. I know everyone is freaking out about this Heritage Foundation encyclopedia of ideas, but it's just entirely too complicated, has a few good ideas, a few bad ideas, and is a silly fear-mongering project.
If talking about a candidate’s weaknesses is bad for democracy, then it ain’t a democracy. I understand the fear, but as Ken points out, that is what’s fueling a campaign built on short-sighted decisions.
It’s not media elites or the left you have to convince, but all the undecided who are not touched by the existential battle but hear of nothing else from this campaign. My personal wish is that he’d trumpet the impact that his CFPB, FTC, NLRB has had on Americans.
He was polling badly before the debate, but I’ll take that excuse to reboot with someone else. It used to be that we replaced candidates if there was the concern for problems, not wait until they actually died. The best time to replace Biden was at the beginning of this election cycle, the second best time is now.
Yeah there are actual substantive policy differences (CFPB, FTC, NLRB as you point out), the democracy is at stake frame really distracts from all that
Exactly. Any competent Democrat would be able to make those points and contrast them with Trump’s goals to continue enriching the billionaire class as much as possible. But Biden can’t because A) the entire narrative right now is about how unfit for office he is and B) he can’t string two sentences together.
I have no problem with discussing a candidate’s weaknesses. Even if I agreed that there was a stronger candidate, the problem is that there is no mechanism for replacing a duly elected nominee and replacing them on the ballots of 50 states in less than 120 days.
I also wish that this election were focused on policies instead of existential threats, but unfortunately, we are facing one. There is broad appeal to the independents and swing voters in a candidate who is not going to upend the country, the rule of law or their lives once he takes office. Project 2025 is the key. The Heritage Foundation has an infrastructure that was decades in the making. It is the main reason that we have the current corrupted SCOTUS issuing rogue decisions on matters that affect us all. I’m not sure what polling you’re referring to, but polls are notoriously wrong. They’ve gotten less accurate over time with the methodologies used and the complexity of modern life. And I’m not aware of any time in American history when we (voters) have “replaced” a duly elected nominee for any party after the primary election. Am I missing something?
Forgive me. But there is little difference between Genocide Joe and Donny Murdo (danger mouse in Scottish gaelic) . Both of them are bloody warmongers. Both are hopeless managers and leaders. Both are total failures.
Biden is Trump’s alter ego, implementing similar policies of increased police funding, Abrahamic Accords, condoning Jewish genocide in Palestine, promoting gangster lawlessness at the Security Council and ICC, vicious border control, forever war, maintain the filibuster, killing the First Amendment- but loved by the party because he lies about his policy instead of being rudely straightforward like Trump.
Alright, Kenny, I'm not going to go BlueMAGA on you like some others but I have to say that you are the only journalist I respect that has made the claim that the Trump v US decision isn't that big of a deal. I understand the caveat that it only pertains to "official acts" but the obvious problem is how we go about deciding an action is official without an investigation to begin with. I would love to see an article where you analyze the decision and maybe bring in some of the arguments from legal experts that "question whether the legal decision really changes much".
They are the same War Uniparty — domestic “differences” are for public entertainment (a three ring circus) so that public can “select”.
Borrowing from George W. Bush at the outset of the Iraq War: "Either you are with us; or, you are against us." No thank you, Joseph Robinette Biden! Biden should put country first. Not Biden first.
before i read the article, i just have to say, that neither of those two pictures looks totally wrong.
In a different context, this election is existential for each of them. I have never been a fan of Joe Biden's but I can muster some sympathy for him. The man has clearly been in decline since before 2019. The public saw it, which means those around him saw it too. The media and everyone around him have gone to beyond great lengths to protect him, praise him and enable him. They don't give him news that upsets him because he doesn't handle it well. And now the knives are out, piercing the delusional bubble they created for him. They used him up and are now spitting him out. He's getting lots of bad news from his protectors, and his reactions are not surprising.
What if the polls are cucked (again) because the lying news media is jealous of Hunter’s massive hog?
i made the same joke lol https://x.com/kenklippenstein/status/1790372659039031438
Who was that older Trump supporter in 2016 that said the polls were cucked and predicted his win all along?
bill mitchell maybe?
Billy “Where’s my Diarrhea Check” Mitchell. I was trying to remember him this morning when i called Aaron Rupar 2024 Peter Daou.
Oh no, yours works, too. But, with the conspiracy theories and fear mongering I've seen this past week, I can't help but to be reminded of the Qanons.
You nailed it.
This a false equivalence. To say that Biden is even remotely similar to Trump (drug addled, incompetent, morally bankrupt and truly dangerous to democratic principles/rule of law) is frankly ridiculous. The hand wringing over Biden is the real threat to this election. He doesn’t need to walk and talk like a 30 year old to be effective in office. I may not agree with everything he does, and on a few topics I seriously disagree, but I’m appalled at the double standards and ageism I’m seeing in the media. I didn’t expect to get it here too. The way the MSM is talking to and about Biden is disgraceful - nothing he provides will be enough to quell the overblown fears of the beltway elites and naysayers, who’ve been lying in wait to see him stumble and harping on every little thing while downplaying Project 2025 and depositions from Trump’s victims in the Epstein cases. Enough already. If Biden gets sick or can’t function, Harris will step in and keep things moving. That’s how this is supposed to work. Have some bloody faith. Or did you just dislike Biden from the get-go?
There is no equivalence; as I state in the article, "the content of what Biden and company are saying is completely different than Trump."
Still, you are right. There are people who are screaming about democracy while being fine with undermining it. Of course, I knew you would get this reaction. I'm sure you did, too.
I appreciate your work, and I’m aware of the disclaimer, but your point seems to have been that Biden has shifted to adopting Trump’s tactics of fear mongering and bluster. I do not see it that way at all. I also wonder which legal experts you’re listening to when you make the bold claim that the recent SCOTUS opinion doesn’t amount to much.
As a lawyer who has been watching SCOTUS for 30 years, I can tell you that this is the most dangerous, egregiously activist decision I have ever seen. It will go down in legal history as perhaps the worst, most corrupt decision ever rendered. I don’t exaggerate when I say that we ought to be terrified of the ramifications of this made-up immunity from criminal prosecution. It is nowhere in the Constitution and has NEVER been given to any President in history. Not only does it confer absolute immunity for crimes committed during acts falling under the “core” functions of the President, it essentially prevents any future prosecution for “unofficial” acts, since any evidence of motive for a President’s alleged crimes is not allowed to be sought or used. The coded language used in this opinion hamstrings the government from reining in any future executive actions and effectively creates a pseudo monarchy. A person like Trump now has license to violate any and every criminal law on the books to accomplish his personal vendettas and protect his co-conspirators. He can sell pardons or state secrets, order hits on his enemies, round up people to imprison and execute, whatever he wants and who has the power to stop him? No one, except Congress, which has failed to effectively put country before party in every impeachment proceeding since Nixon. The only other mechanism to limit the power of the executive branch has been eliminated with this decision and the one that just decimated Chevron (shifting agency regulatory powers to the federal courts). There are no more checks or balances on the Presidency, and the 3 branches of government are no longer co-equal. We are now reliant on the goodwill of the officeholder. Terrifying.
Fair point re evidence not being allowed to be used — if I recall correctly, that was something even Coney Barrett joined the dissent on. I'll append an update.
hey, you should look on the bright side. now when your preferred-commander-in-chief goes around congress to send weapons to Israel, he doesn't even need to have a 1% worry that anyone could theoretically hold him accountable. official acts of genocide ftw!
Sarcasm? This is too important for that. I’ll never understand why people online will make assumptions and take shots at strangers about things that weren’t even mentioned.
Biden is not my preferred President. He is the nominee for the Dem party and is the best chance for avoiding another catastrophic Trump term, IMO. You obviously disagree and probably believe that your preferred candidate is morally superior and therefore, should be hastily put forth so we can all make the world a better place. That would be fine with me, but for a few ancillary issues. Whoever is elected has to contend with Congress, the State Dept, the military industrial complex, our allies and enemies, our economy, our intelligence community, etc. The US is obligated through a web of prior treaties, agreements and the like to honor its contracts, MOUs, etc to our allies, a group that still includes Israel. Say what you like about Netanyahu and his criminal far right cronies, but the citizens of Israel are not at fault, any more than the unfortunate people of Palestine are responsible for the atrocities of Hamas, who has vowed to destroy Israel. Whoever we elect has to work within the narrow confines of the law, with an understanding of the past and an eye toward the future.
If you think that the POTUS (whoever it may be) can just ignore all of this and unilaterally halt all military aid to Israel, you need to learn about how this stuff works. The US is obligated by the terms of an MOU signed in 2016 that is in effect through 2028, to provide $38B in aid to Israel, subject to appropriations. Biden didn’t sign it, but he has to meet the obligation. Theres so much more to it, but the sad part is I agree with you that Israeli leadership needs to stop committing war crimes against the Palestinians. It’s just not as simple as people think to use leverage against an ally nation that has nukes and simultaneously avoid destabilizing the region and the world. The desire for easy solutions is what led to the cult of MAGA and the desire for a dictator POTUS who doesn’t need to worry about pesky details like laws, contracts, stability, voters or justice. They can just do what they think is right without regard for consequences. I didn’t really want Biden to be that person, and I’d like for him to do more than he has to curb Israeli leadership, but I also understand and respect the legal processes operating here. The US can’t just default on its pledges without wreaking havoc for ourselves and others. Not to mention the fact that Netanyahu is another Trump in sheep’s clothing - desperate, deceptive and unmanageable. Who would do better? You don’t bother to say who should run in Biden’s place or how that would happen or even how your preferred candidate could win, so I’ll stick to what I see as the best option.
Finally, sending military aid to an ally is not a crime, even if they commit crimes with it, so the BS conferring of absolute presidential immunity wouldn’t apply to Biden. I guess we can always debate whether we accept the prospect of Biden committing crimes to reduce the scale of suffering and death resulting from a Trump win. Seems like a very slippery slope.
Sarcasm is rooted in an understanding of a fact that you're attempting to ignore with long and unimportant replies.
This election is over. Its been over for years. I'm not happy about it, but what can I do? Better yet, what can you do, Lawyer? You got a plan? Or just replies? I don't have a "morally superior" candidate and if I did... doesn't matter. Because the election is over.
Do you understand that the election is over? Or do you honestly think that a President who polls in the 30's has any chance at all of winning? If you do, you should consider going back to school and taking a couple of statistics courses. Or history courses. It has never happened and I'll be damned if President numb-nuts is going to be the first.
The election is over.
Blue Maga is very easily offended. Be careful around them!
Blueanon
Ok that’s actually funny, but no, I’m not in a cult. I don’t think god sent Biden to lead us all to the Rapture and I’m not a delusional believer of conspiracy theories. I wasn’t even that thrilled with him as President at first, but he’s done better than I’d hoped for on a range of issues that we likely agree on. I also accept that he won a primary election with a large majority of votes and there is no mechanism to deny a place on the ballot to a fairly elected nominee. None of the other possible candidates being floated by the MSM have much chance of beating Tangerine Palpatine either, like it or not. If Biden is unable to fulfill his duties, the VP will take over. Anything but Trump. Read up on Project 2025. This has been in the works for 40+ years. They are so close to realizing all their christofascist dreams, but they got over confident and put their plans in writing. Now the normies are noticing - oops!
Project 2025 is sitting on my bookshelf. These people have not read it. It's 4 or 5 INCHES thick! It's literally the Conservative wishlist of crap and has been forever. I doubt very seriously Trump has read it, much less endorsed everything in it. He's just not that Conservative, never has been. He's a populist. I think Harris should have already been sworn in. I don't, however, think they should string Biden along, hope he gets elected and then swap Harris in. That's not democracy. She should run on her on merit and likeability. Biden is non compos mentis and allowing him to remain for another 6 months is irresponsible and dangerous to the country. There's a reason we have a Vice President. I know everyone is freaking out about this Heritage Foundation encyclopedia of ideas, but it's just entirely too complicated, has a few good ideas, a few bad ideas, and is a silly fear-mongering project.
Thx! Hard to keep up.
If talking about a candidate’s weaknesses is bad for democracy, then it ain’t a democracy. I understand the fear, but as Ken points out, that is what’s fueling a campaign built on short-sighted decisions.
It’s not media elites or the left you have to convince, but all the undecided who are not touched by the existential battle but hear of nothing else from this campaign. My personal wish is that he’d trumpet the impact that his CFPB, FTC, NLRB has had on Americans.
He was polling badly before the debate, but I’ll take that excuse to reboot with someone else. It used to be that we replaced candidates if there was the concern for problems, not wait until they actually died. The best time to replace Biden was at the beginning of this election cycle, the second best time is now.
Yeah there are actual substantive policy differences (CFPB, FTC, NLRB as you point out), the democracy is at stake frame really distracts from all that
Exactly. Any competent Democrat would be able to make those points and contrast them with Trump’s goals to continue enriching the billionaire class as much as possible. But Biden can’t because A) the entire narrative right now is about how unfit for office he is and B) he can’t string two sentences together.
I have no problem with discussing a candidate’s weaknesses. Even if I agreed that there was a stronger candidate, the problem is that there is no mechanism for replacing a duly elected nominee and replacing them on the ballots of 50 states in less than 120 days.
I also wish that this election were focused on policies instead of existential threats, but unfortunately, we are facing one. There is broad appeal to the independents and swing voters in a candidate who is not going to upend the country, the rule of law or their lives once he takes office. Project 2025 is the key. The Heritage Foundation has an infrastructure that was decades in the making. It is the main reason that we have the current corrupted SCOTUS issuing rogue decisions on matters that affect us all. I’m not sure what polling you’re referring to, but polls are notoriously wrong. They’ve gotten less accurate over time with the methodologies used and the complexity of modern life. And I’m not aware of any time in American history when we (voters) have “replaced” a duly elected nominee for any party after the primary election. Am I missing something?
Forgive me. But there is little difference between Genocide Joe and Donny Murdo (danger mouse in Scottish gaelic) . Both of them are bloody warmongers. Both are hopeless managers and leaders. Both are total failures.
Biden is Trump’s alter ego, implementing similar policies of increased police funding, Abrahamic Accords, condoning Jewish genocide in Palestine, promoting gangster lawlessness at the Security Council and ICC, vicious border control, forever war, maintain the filibuster, killing the First Amendment- but loved by the party because he lies about his policy instead of being rudely straightforward like Trump.
Alright, Kenny, I'm not going to go BlueMAGA on you like some others but I have to say that you are the only journalist I respect that has made the claim that the Trump v US decision isn't that big of a deal. I understand the caveat that it only pertains to "official acts" but the obvious problem is how we go about deciding an action is official without an investigation to begin with. I would love to see an article where you analyze the decision and maybe bring in some of the arguments from legal experts that "question whether the legal decision really changes much".
What about Biden spray painting himself orange like DJT? Stranger than fiction