#8 I'm not sure it's what the nation wants, but it might be what enough voters in swing states want.

"Presidential Staff Won't Have Presidential Immunity"

No problem. The president will simply promise and then proceed to pardon them, and because the power of the presidential pardon is one of a president's official duties, the pardons will stand.

I'm voting mostly for the platform. Doesn't much matter who the candidate is.
#5 | POSTED BY SNOOFY

Agreed. "But his debate stumbles" are the new "but her emails", and as this poster predicts "but her covering for Biden" or something else will be the hit on Harris if she replaces him:

This election is not a choice between two individuals, it's a choice between worldviews, between futures. Do we want to continue down the path to multiethnic democracy or do we want to impose a white patriarchal Christian autocracy?

At stake is the entire federal civil service. The machinery of state built since WWII. Freedom & dignity for millions. Yes, democracy itself. That's not an exaggeration. Yet this country's elites have utterly failed to convey those stakes to the populace. A *grotesque* failure.

You can not look at this extraordinary media freakout this last week and not psychologize, not see all kinds of displacement. They can't or won't be serious about Trump & so they are ------- *giddy* at having permission to scold Dems again. Their safe place.

Anyway, my point is just: none of this will change if Harris replaces Biden at the top of the ticket. The idea that the media -- with these soulless careerist court gossips in charge -- will allow it is just fantasy. They *need* Dems in disarray & so they will engineer it.

The US is right on the precipice of falling into bona fide fascism & *the vast majority of the voting public doesn't even know it*. That speaks to a deeply diseased information environment. Until Dems do something about that, all their self-flagellation will buy them nothing.

This is a good site to begin to understand the aims and scope of Project 2025:

The goal being, since Joe has blown the presidential election anyway, to hopefully salvage the House and Senate to slow Hair Furor's roll to despotism.
#3 | POSTED BY CENSORED

The more I read about Project 2025, the more I realize that it is designed to circumvent Congress in the event that the House and the Senate aren't held by the GOP. The plan will work using just the office of the President and the ultimate sanction of the Supreme Court. For example in the chapter on Homeland Security, a department that will be eliminated, btw, this is the proposed strategy:

While acknowledging the constitutional requirement of Senate confirmation of nominees, Cucinelli suggests "a novel approach" to fast-track confirmations of nominees to avoid Senate delay that involves placing conservative nominees into "acting" or interim positions while they await Senate approval. This step would "guarantee implementation of the Day One agenda and equip the department for potential emergency situations while still honoring the confirmation requirement," writes Cucinelli.

I will support a Biden replacement--Harris, Whitmer, Newsom, Beshear, Buttigieg, to name a few people i've heard proposed. Harris has the best shot in that she is the most likely to be able to get the money the Biden campaign has raised, although it's not guaranteed as the article points out, but the devil is in the details as they say and as the article esplains. So, what's the plan, gents?

Doc, quoting poetry, which you know I love, is cool, but it's not a plan.

Censored, at least you acknowledge your plan is to relinquish the presidency and "to hopefully salvage the House and Senate to slow Hair Furor's roll to despotism." Democrats may be able to get the House back. Not so sure, even before this, they can hold the Senate.

A friend texted this article to me tonight, and I decided to post it because it reminded me a a Twitter thread I read earlier tonight and amplified on it.

FTA:

You all love military metaphors. Military terminology.

This is war! you shout. We're in this fight to the end! We're ready for battle!

I've been to war. Couple times now. War was my profession, most of my life. I don't recommend it, but it worked for me. I know something about it.

This is the Twitter thread I read earlier:

Dave Troy
@davetroy
1/In pilot training, you learn how to recover from a stall-spin, a dangerous condition where you're rotating, nose-down, and losing altitude fast. The natural instinct is to whip the control yoke hard in the direction opposite the spin. But that's bad, and will kill you...

2/because you can't regain airflow over your wings and regain lift. Gravity takes over, and then you die. If you want to live, you have to overcome that instinct and use the rudder to stop rotating, regain lift, and regain altitude. It's hard to do--because instincts.

3/Today, we see a chorus of people absolutely out of their minds, with no deep understanding of contemporary political dynamics, insisting at the top of their lungs to follow the worst instincts possible. It's shameful, embarrassing, unhelpful--and deadly. It needs to stop.

4/Some in the chorus are just stupid. Some mean well but are not well-informed. Some are downright evil. Either way, it all ends in the same way: in a smoking hole with a lot of dead passengers. Unless the pilots take control and shut the lot of you up, we're all doomed.

5/Without cooler heads taking control, we are going to lose the country. As both a pilot and as someone who has studied our political dynamics in a cross-disciplinary way more than most people, the lack of self-control here is alarming. Instincts, unchecked, will kill us all.

6/So on this 4th of July, I implore those calling for Drastic Actions to shut up and think hard about they are doing, who it benefits, and the distinct possibility that not only are they wrong, they are going to cause a deadly disaster. Stop now. For America.

GAL
I didn't see Michael Flynn's name. Surely Trump is saving him for something special.
#22 | POSTED BY TWINPAC

Oh, yes, I'm sure. Probably some position where he will be in charge of putting down domestic unrest. You and TH are both right: Trump with Project 2025's backing will prove to be shock and awe to most of the American people should it come to pass.

#104 ok, I can agree with that. I got whiplash from the way the entire news media suddenly flipped the switch and decided to bury Biden alive, ALL of them in lockstep. I have NEVER seen anything like that, and it did make me wonder who is pulling the collective strings.
#115 | POSTED BY MIRANDA7

Yeah, I don't know about the media, but Democrats are doing it themselves. Remember when they threw Al Franken under the bus during the height of the #MeToo movement? Democrats go all wobbly and all or nothing and become their own worst enemy. Circular firing squad and all that.

They have been busy cannibalizing Biden from exactly the moment the debate ended and will continue to do so for the 5 or 6 days and then they will go back to their water carrying as they have done for the entire existence of their worthless channel if Biden refuses to step aside.
#106 | POSTED BY CLAUDIO

Maybe, maybe not, but by then the damage will already be done and by them because they think it means they are better than Republicans and rightwing media. That's a mistake Republicans never make. Don't bring a knife to a gun fight, and yet Democrats do it every time.

Gal,
Here was CNN's quick and dirty fact check which aired immediately after the debate.
archive.ph
#105 | POSTED BY MIRANDA

I'm well aware of Daniel Dale's excellent work, but one 3 minute fact check versus--what are we up to now?--a week of concentrating on Biden does not for equity make.

Are you seriously suggesting that MSNBC has been biased in favor of Trump? Ok, I will bite, WHY?
#102 | POSTED BY MIRANDA7

I'm saying many of them are busy cannibalizing Biden right now and aren't spending a whole lot of time on Trump.

"2. Executive Office of the President of the United States
Russ Vought"

Trump doesn't know the guy he held a special reception for?:

By this stage in the evening, more than a hundred people were crammed onto the Mar-a-Lago patio. They were a mix of wealthy political donors and allies of the former president and they had come to see Trump himself bless Russ Vought's organization, the Center for Renewing America.

Vought was a policy wonk who became one of Trump's most trusted officials. Before joining the Trump administration in 2017 as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget " and ultimately going on to run the agency " Vought had a long career in conservative policy circles.

That included a stint as executive director and budget director of the Republican Study Committee " the largest bloc of House conservatives " and as the policy director for the House Republican Conference.

Trump was helping raise money for Vought's CRA, which has been busily developing many of the policy and administrative plans that would likely form the foundation for a second-term Trump administration. . . .

Trump saved his kindest words that night for two individuals: Mark Meadows and Russ Vought. He praised their organizations and the important work they were doing.

During the past year, Vought's group has been developing plans that would benefit from Schedule F. And while the power rests largely on the fear factor to stifle civil service opposition to Trump, sources close to the former president said they still anticipate needing an alternate labor force of unprecedented scale " of perhaps as many as 10,000 vetted personnel " to give them the capacity to quickly replace "obstructionist" government officials with people committed to Trump and his "America First" agenda.

In other words, a new army of political partisans planted throughout the federal bureaucracy.

Section 2: The Common Defense

4. Department of Defense
Christopher Miller

"I have no idea who is behind it."

Sure you do, Donnie, some of them are the very best people you picked to be in your adminstration:

Section 1:Taking the Reins of Government

1. White House Office
Rick Dearborn

"If they analyze Trump's speeches word by word, pointing out every stumble, mispronounciation, lost train of thought, forgotten name, etc. it is news to me."

Like I said, I haven't seen them do it this election cycle.

#55 Right? NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, etc. all carried Trump with their soft reporting of him. Fell for your trolling, but no more, not even you are that blind.
#58 | POSTED BY GRACIEAMAZED

If they analyze Trump's speeches word by word, pointing out every stumble, mispronounciation, lost train of thought, forgotten name, etc. it is news to me. Oh, sure, they cover a few of his faux pas per speech but no one outlines every flaw. Maybe because there are too many of them. I don't know why, but I know the one station I sometimes listen to, MSNBC, hasn't scrutinized Trump's debate performance with half the scrutiny they are giving to Biden's. They never analyze his rallies speeches line by line this election cycle that I have seen. Oh, sure, they hit the highlights like batteries and sharks, but that's really about it. I've heard some hosts recently saying they really should cover Trump's remarks more thoroughly, but so far I haven't really seen them do it. But I don't watch 24 x 7, so maybe someone can provide a link to such a recent analysis.

Heritage Foundation working on election legal challenges in case Biden pulled from DNC nomination
At least three swing states--Georgia, Nevada and Wisconsin--could restrict Biden's removal from the ballot
www.foxnews.com
#17 | POSTED BY GAL_TUESDAY

What better way for the Heritage Foundation to guarantee a Trump victory and the implementation of Project 2025 than to bring a bunch of law suits in various states challenging Biden's replacement's right to be on the ballot and then having the Supremen Court rule in favor of disqualifying that replacement? Heritage Foundation conservatives, including those on the SC, are so close to taking total control of this country that they can taste it. Thomas, Alito et al (and their equally corrupt spouses) are smacking their lips at the prospect.

If people only analyzed Trump's debate performance or any rally speech or interveiw he gives with half the zeal they are now expending on Biden's every word, we might be able to take their opinions somewhat seriously. But as it is, not so much.
#50 | POSTED BY GAL_TUESDAY

I'm not just talking about posts on this site but about the media at large as well.

"Our Constitution grants each of us the liberty to do not what we want, but what we ought."

Too bad they don't apply this principle to Donald Trump or to themselves.

If people only analyzed Trump's debate performance or any rally speech or interveiw he gives with half the zeal they are now expending on Biden's every word, we might be able to take their opinions somewhat seriously. But as it is, not so much.

From the Foreward written by Roberts on page 13 of Project 2025:

PROMISE #4 SECURE OUR GOD-GIVEN INDIVIDUAL RIGHT TO ENJOY "THE BLESSINGS OF LIBERTY.

When the Founders spoke of pursuit of Happiness,' what they meant might be understood today as in essence "pursuit of Blessedness." That is, an individual must be free to live as his Creator ordained--to flourish. Our Constitution grants each of us the liberty to do not what we want, but what we ought. This pursuit of the good life is found primarily in family--marriage, children, Thanksgiving dinners, and the like.

"At least three swing states--"

I expect the number of states, swing or otherwise, to go up if Biden is pulled from the ticket.

#6 The media loves Trump. Always has. Biden is way too boring.

#15. My comment had nothing to do with Trump being able to get votes. It's about ballot eligibility in 3 states if Biden drops out. Would you like a link so you can see what I'm referring to?
#16 | POSTED BY BELLRINGER

Allow me since I've posted it previously:

IF you think the Supreme Court won't rule in a way that screws Democrats when the case(s) end up on their doorstep, you are nuts:

Heritage Foundation working on election legal challenges in case Biden pulled from DNC nomination

At least three swing states--Georgia, Nevada and Wisconsin--could restrict Biden's removal from the ballot