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https://apple.news/APEuOPHP2TWqeUTR_h8QypA
So the Republican speaker of the house has decided to open an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden’s business dealings with hunter. I have serious doubts that this will go very far as democrats still control the senate. This looks like an attempt to stir up the base for re-election season.
I personally see this as a big distraction as we have a lot of very serious problems that need to be addressed. BRICs, Taiwan, Ukraine, inflation, and
The pro move for Democrats would be to use this to replace Biden with someone with a pulse.
30 years ago Bill Clinton was POTUS, John Major was PM of the UK, Kim Campbell was PM of Canada, Paul Keating was PM of Australia... these people are now half-forgotten relics of yesteryear, and all of them are younger than Joe Biden.
Problem is, who do you replace him with? Kamala Harris? She seems to be regarded as unelectable. Governor Newsom? Yeah, right. Elizabeth Warren? Shot her bolt. Any other possible candidates have all been clawed at by their rivals so that suggesting A means "yeah but remember the accusations about A the last time they ran?"
I've seen a few names floated, but they all have the same problem of not really being able to deliver on "yeah the nation as a whole wouldn't hate them". Either their appeal is strictly local and won't scale up, or they're "who?", or they've been clawed by rivals so it's "you really think people will vote for the person who bullies their staff, or the person who is a hypocrite on [thing], or the person who....".
I think the situation is actually less desperate than people imagine. The problem lies with the progressive wing of the DNC having so much influence on narrative, particularly in media. There are real options for them. Sherrod Brown, Joe Manchin, and Bob Casey have shown the ability to win many elections and appeal to electorates more similar to the country than California and NY. They just so happen to be white guys that aren't known for aggressively pissing off rural and suburban people, like a certain old white guy in the White House. So they aren't treated as serious options for now. But they will be if Biden is off the table, and they could do well.
Holding an unusual position is not enough to make someone a compromise candidate. You’re not going to win elections by being “the Democrat who hates abortion” or “the Democrat who just loves coal.” Especially in a saturated field, that just pushes the moderate Democrat voters off to other candidates.
I suspect it’s much easier to rule someone out than in. That would suggest compromise candidates who are closer to blank slates—they offend the fewest members of the base. Honestly, I think Biden’s campaign was in that category. He made vaguely appropriate mouth sounds and didn’t promise much. Did he win on the strength of Not Being Trump? Maybe.
Point is, Manchin and Casey and (previously) Sinema don’t have crossover appeal any more than Bernie Sanders. They just alienate a different group of people.
No, he largely won on the strength of the intelligence community and social media knowingly suppressing true stories about his various scandals.
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