Presumably it means Biden could use it to mandate all justices over a certain age immediately retire - as a presidential act ….
Not really. The immunity decision means a president can’t be criminally prosecuted for committing a crime if he or she committed that crime in a context related to presidential duties or authority. It doesn’t mean that an unconstitutional act by a president can’t be declared unconstitutional.
I have fired an AR 15. It is designed to kill humans. But I would not use it for hunting. I want to preserve the meat the AR15 would pulverize.
Quite a lot of people use an AR-15 style rifle chambered in 5.56 NATO for hunting. It seems to be fairly common for vermin control (coyotes and so on), and a not infrequent choice for small deer.
The ammunition is cheap and widely available. AR-15 style rifles are widely available, inexpensive, and generally reliable.
I was giving my opinion about not wanting to use an AR style rifle for hunting. A well placed 5.56 round would pulverize a third of a deer. It is also more of a short-range gun, between 400 to 600 yards. The maximum range of a 30-06 (7.62×63mm) is around 3,200 yards. When you are hunting Elk, you want range.
I think we've crossed the threshold between legitimate concerns about Biden's health to a generalized "don't you think he looks tired?" media feeding frenzy. Because there's no longer a specific concern it's impossible to disprove it.
It's obviously a problem that the Republican propaganda machine was effective in creating and cementing this narrative. But it has, so any decision about Biden has to care as much or more about perception as about facts and the perception is that Biden is struggling with his health. Unless he can vault onto horseback while spontaneously reciting the elements song that perception is not going to change. Given that, what happens next? It seems pretty clear that he has to step down and the sooner the better.
As candidate, or as President? Arguably if he were unfit to be the candidate he might be unfit to be the current President? Certainly I would expect many Republicans to argue thus!
So Biden should step down because the Republicans want him to? Excuse me? Seems to me that if they thought he would be so easy to beat they'd want him as the candidate.
So Biden should step down because the Republicans want him to? Excuse me? Seems to me that if they thought he would be so easy to beat they'd want him as the candidate.
They wouldn't really want him to stand down as President. They would just say he ought to, try to cause as much awkwardness as possible for the Democrats, maintain the public perception that they're on the attack and Biden is on the defensive.
My point stands. Should Biden stand down because the Republicans say he should?
Mind you, I would have been happier if he wasn't running at all. But at this point you can't change horses in the middle of the stream, and besides there is no one else primed to take over. He's what we've got. So we'd all better stand together, or hang separately.
So Biden should step down because the Republicans want him to? Excuse me? Seems to me that if they thought he would be so easy to beat they'd want him as the candidate.
No, he should stand down too many independents and Democrats have been convinced he's not up to the job. There was a point where that perception could be overcome but it's passed and hoping people will change their minds by November is not a winning strategy.
This is worth a read, there is good evidence we are evolutionarily primed to prefer people who appear healthy (and by extension younger). So if the Democrats were to put up anyone substantially younger than Trump with a reasonable public profile they might do well.
My argument would be that to be able to have *a better chance than Biden*, the candidate just needs to be more competent than Trump and more appealing than Biden to the electorate.
Brian Schatz, Gary Peters, Jack Reed, Jon Osoff, Chris Murphy, Joe Manchin, Martin Heinrich, Michael Bennet ?
No, Biden should not stand down! That's what I'm saying! It would be a gift to the Republicans who would paint the Democrats as chaotic and treacherous. Indeed Trump has already started doing that - insincerely criticising George Clooney for opposing Biden, saying what a disloyal backstabber Clooney must be (implication - like all Democrats).
Maybe, but of all the possible someones, only Harris would have access to the money already donated to the Biden campaign. Only Harris can claim that, as the vice-president/running mate to Biden, having her replace Biden at the top of the ticket is consistent with honoring the will of the millions of voters who chose Biden as the Democratic candidate through the Democratic primary elections.
And as @NicoleMR says, if Biden does indeed step down, deciding to do anything other than replace him with the woman of color who’s been his VP since January 2021 would be disastrous.
We can speculate ‘til the cows come home, but Kamala Harris is the only realistic choice if Biden steps aside. At this stage of things, other possible names are really only relevant to the question of who might be her running mate.
My argument would be that to be able to have *a better chance than Biden*, the candidate just needs to be more competent than Trump and more appealing than Biden to the electorate.
Strongly disagree. To have a better chance than Biden any replacement would have to be wildly more appealing than Biden in order to compensate for all the disgruntled Biden fans who would be put off by the ditching of Biden. No such candidate exists. Therefore, keep Biden.
Brian Schatz, Gary Peters, Jack Reed, Jon Osoff, Chris Murphy, Joe Manchin, Martin Heinrich, Michael Bennet ?
Every single one of these people would be annihilated by Trump. It’s Biden or Harris, those are the only options. This is what the Democratic Party gets for rejecting calls for a primary and keeping the president cloistered away.
Brian Schatz, Gary Peters, Jack Reed, Jon Osoff, Chris Murphy, Joe Manchin, Martin Heinrich, Michael Bennet ?
Every single one of these people would be annihilated by Trump. It’s Biden or Harris, those are the only options. This is what the Democratic Party gets for rejecting calls for a primary and keeping the president cloistered away.
The Democrats had a primary in 2024. What happened is that every single big name Democrat, independently and of their own free will and including everyone on @Doublethink's list, decided not to challenge Joe Biden for the nomination. There was one lower-tier challenger (Dean Phillips) who was overwhelmingly rejected by Democratic primary voters. I'm not sure what you think "the Democratic Party" should have done to convince/force candidates to mount a primary challenge against Biden. Can you explain?
This is what the Democratic Party gets for rejecting calls for a primary and keeping the president cloistered away.
In addition to what @Crœsos said and asked, what are you talking about with “rejecting calls for a primary”? Primaries are not “called for.” They automatically happen (in those states that hold primaries rather than caucuses, which is almost all states), unless no candidate files to run in the primary.
Pair this with a complete lack of media curiosity about Trump's medical condition after he was literally shot.
Being shot is not actually an illness, and Trump clearly received a light flesh wound. There is no reason to believe that being shot in the ear has had any impact on Trump's long-term health.
What? He'd make a great NDP leader. ;^)
Kidding aside, he is popular and would offer a distinct alternative to the Trumpian vision.
He's never been tested in a general nationwide contest, and would be very vulnerable to a negative campaign. Duckduckgo "You might very well be the cause of cancer".
Pair this with a complete lack of media curiosity about Trump's medical condition after he was literally shot.
Being shot is not actually an illness, and Trump clearly received a light flesh wound. There is no reason to believe that being shot in the ear has had any impact on Trump's long-term health.
I'm not sure about that. A high speed round can cause concussive damage passing that close to the head. We have so far not had a statement one way or another from a medical professional who has examined Trump about whether or not he was concussed. We also don't know what kind of treatment he's received, including infection control and/or painkillers. If he was on anything strong it might explain why he apparently fell asleep during the first three nights of the Republican National Convention.
This is what the Democratic Party gets for rejecting calls for a primary and keeping the president cloistered away.
In addition to what @Crœsos said and asked, what are you talking about with “rejecting calls for a primary”? Primaries are not “called for.” They automatically happen (in those states that hold primaries rather than caucuses, which is almost all states), unless no candidate files to run in the primary.
I expressed myself poorly, apologies. I meant that the primary was perfunctory, and not a real and vigorous one with debates and genuine campaigning. I know as head of the party Biden has a lot of say over those maneuvers, but clearly a genuine primary would have benefited everyone.
Comments
No.
Biden wouldn't anyway but SCOTUS has set it up so that they have all the power.
Essentially the ruling says that The President will be immune from a lot of things and we'll decide what things when it comes up.
Quite apart from anything else, it's not how Common Law works but...
So it's a naked power grab by SCOTUS.
Here's the easiest ever prediction:
Anything bad Trump does: IMMUNE
Anything even vaguely close to the line Biden (or any Dem) does: NOT IMMUNE
SCOTUS is really dangerous right now.
AFZ
At least not yet.
I was giving my opinion about not wanting to use an AR style rifle for hunting. A well placed 5.56 round would pulverize a third of a deer. It is also more of a short-range gun, between 400 to 600 yards. The maximum range of a 30-06 (7.62×63mm) is around 3,200 yards. When you are hunting Elk, you want range.
Might this be the moment at which he should stand down?
To contrast, the White House felt it necessary to produce a statement about Biden's medical condition from his doctor. Pair this with a complete lack of media curiosity about Trump's medical condition after he was literally shot.
They wouldn't really want him to stand down as President. They would just say he ought to, try to cause as much awkwardness as possible for the Democrats, maintain the public perception that they're on the attack and Biden is on the defensive.
Mind you, I would have been happier if he wasn't running at all. But at this point you can't change horses in the middle of the stream, and besides there is no one else primed to take over. He's what we've got. So we'd all better stand together, or hang separately.
No, he should stand down too many independents and Democrats have been convinced he's not up to the job. There was a point where that perception could be overcome but it's passed and hoping people will change their minds by November is not a winning strategy.
Harris would seem the obvious choice, given the campaign finance issue that has been raised.
As for changing horses mid-stream - I raise you the sunk cost fallacy.
Do the democrats have any white male politicians under 60 who are not bald ?
Pete Buttigieg?
Fair, but (as the quote indicates) I was answering the question posed by @Doublethink …
Their question was have the Democrats got anyone under 60 and not bald?
Which I answered.
Ms Harris rates slightly higher than Mr Biden, and has a lower active dislike rating than him too.
According to the same source, Mr Trump is less popular than Ms Harris and has a higher active dislike rating than her too.
Brian Schatz, Gary Peters, Jack Reed, Jon Osoff, Chris Murphy, Joe Manchin, Martin Heinrich, Michael Bennet ?
He'd be annihilated if he ran.
Kidding aside, he is popular and would offer a distinct alternative to the Trumpian vision.
And as @NicoleMR says, if Biden does indeed step down, deciding to do anything other than replace him with the woman of color who’s been his VP since January 2021 would be disastrous.
We can speculate ‘til the cows come home, but Kamala Harris is the only realistic choice if Biden steps aside. At this stage of things, other possible names are really only relevant to the question of who might be her running mate.
Strongly disagree. To have a better chance than Biden any replacement would have to be wildly more appealing than Biden in order to compensate for all the disgruntled Biden fans who would be put off by the ditching of Biden. No such candidate exists. Therefore, keep Biden.
Every single one of these people would be annihilated by Trump. It’s Biden or Harris, those are the only options. This is what the Democratic Party gets for rejecting calls for a primary and keeping the president cloistered away.
The Democrats had a primary in 2024. What happened is that every single big name Democrat, independently and of their own free will and including everyone on @Doublethink's list, decided not to challenge Joe Biden for the nomination. There was one lower-tier challenger (Dean Phillips) who was overwhelmingly rejected by Democratic primary voters. I'm not sure what you think "the Democratic Party" should have done to convince/force candidates to mount a primary challenge against Biden. Can you explain?
Being shot is not actually an illness, and Trump clearly received a light flesh wound. There is no reason to believe that being shot in the ear has had any impact on Trump's long-term health.
He's never been tested in a general nationwide contest, and would be very vulnerable to a negative campaign. Duckduckgo "You might very well be the cause of cancer".
I'm not sure about that. A high speed round can cause concussive damage passing that close to the head. We have so far not had a statement one way or another from a medical professional who has examined Trump about whether or not he was concussed. We also don't know what kind of treatment he's received, including infection control and/or painkillers. If he was on anything strong it might explain why he apparently fell asleep during the first three nights of the Republican National Convention.
I expressed myself poorly, apologies. I meant that the primary was perfunctory, and not a real and vigorous one with debates and genuine campaigning. I know as head of the party Biden has a lot of say over those maneuvers, but clearly a genuine primary would have benefited everyone.