Joe Biden and the Democratic Party

[everyonematters]

Last edited Tue May 27, 2025, 07:10 AM - Edit history (1)

First, let me state that Joe Biden is a good person. In a lot of ways, he did a good job with the cards he was dealt.

When Barack Obama left office in 2017, he helped a lot of people obtain affordable health care by passing the ACA, but because of past economic policies, a substantial number of members of our society were still struggling. Biden made some gains in this regard, but for the most part people are still struggling. I would like to think that the major goal of our party is helping these people. Trump's policies aren't going to help anybody.

I remember the 1980 election where Jimmy Carter and the Democrats lost devastatingly. Carter was one of the most snake-bitten presidents in our history with instances that were completely out of his control effecting his approval ratings, such as the hostage crisis. When Carter left office, he accepted the will of the people and moved on. So did the Democratic Party. We all know what Jimmy did with the rest of his life. He is one of the most popular ex-presidents in our history. Eventually the party recovered and won the White House in 1992.

If the goal of the Democratic Party is to help improve people lives, the way to accomplishing that is winning elections. Currently we have a situation with the recent ex-president who will not accept the circumstances for the fact that he was not allowed to run for a second term. This is unfortunate for the country and the party. The voters are holding the party as a whole responsible for what they see as a cover-up of the fact that Joe was not up to the job. It may not be true. It may not be his fault, but that is the reality. The party needs to move on, but our own politicians are reluctant to express themselves in the way that is needed because they fear a backlash from the base of the party which is us. If we don't move on and start relating better with the rest of society, we risk losing our ability to win elections and help people.

[usonian]

1. Regardless of blaming and flaming, I got this in an email from Bernie. Can we keep it simple?

From Bernie:

People attending rallies in huge numbers are saying
YES to raising the minimum wage,
YES to expanding Social Security,
YES to guaranteeing health care as a human right,
YES to cutting the cost of prescription drugs,
YES to paid family and medical leave,
YES to equal pay for equal work,
YES to more affordable housing,
YES to making childcare and higher education affordable to all,
YES to taking on the existential threat of climate change.

And most importantly they are saying
YES to a government and an economy that works for all of us and not just the billionaire class and the Oligarchs.

[CBHagman]

2. President Obama didn't leave office in 2013. He left in 2017.

President Biden won the nomination but stepped down, Vice President Harris ran a solid campaign, and the difference between the candidates' totals in the popular vote was about a point and a half. Yes, it is shocking that a felon won the popular vote, especially a felon that tried to stay in office in 2021 despite an election loss, but that's for another thread.

There were multiple reasons the 2024 election turned out the way it did, including the war in Gaza.

That said, the current situation is highly dangerous and the correct response is not to siphon off our energies responding to the Tapper-Thompson book, especially when the current administration is attacking multiple institutions, defunding research, destroying the economy, and dismantling the U.S. government before our eyes.

And for that we need both new faces and voices and veteran lawmakers and leaders. It's both/and, not either/or.