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NYT-George Clooney: "I love Joe Biden. But we need a new nominee." (full article text inside) -- (edited)

Posted by budice Jul 10 '24, 08:27

George Clooney: I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee.
July 10, 2024, 10:46 a.m. ET

By George Clooney
Mr. Clooney is an actor, director and film producer.

I’m a lifelong Democrat; I make no apologies for that. I’m proud of what my party represents and what it stands for. As part of my participation in the democratic process and in support of my chosen candidate, I have led some of the biggest fund-raisers in my party’s history. Barack Obama in 2012. Hillary Clinton in 2016. Joe Biden in 2020. Last month I co-hosted the single largest fund-raiser supporting any Democratic candidate ever, for President Biden’s re-election. I say all of this only to express how much I believe in this process and how profound I think this moment is.

I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend, and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he’s won many of the battles he’s faced.

But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe “big F-ing deal” Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.

Was he tired? Yes. A cold? Maybe. But our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw. We’re all so terrified by the prospect of a second Trump term that we’ve opted to ignore every warning sign. The George Stephanopoulos interview only reinforced what we saw the week before. As Democrats, we collectively hold our breath or turn down the volume whenever we see the president, who we respect, walk off Air Force One or walk back to a mic to answer an unscripted question.

Is it fair to point these things out? It has to be. This is about age. Nothing more. But also nothing that can be reversed. We are not going to win in November with this president. On top of that, we won’t win the House, and we’re going to lose the Senate. This isn’t only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and congress member and governor that I’ve spoken with in private. Every single one, irrespective of what he or she is saying publicly.

We love to talk about how the Republican Party has ceded all power, and all of the traits that made it so formidable with Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, to a single person who seeks to hold on to the presidency, and yet most of our members of Congress are opting to wait and see if the dam breaks. But the dam has broken. We can put our heads in the sand and pray for a miracle in November, or we can speak the truth.

It is disingenuous, at best, to argue that Democrats have already spoken with their vote and therefore the nomination is settled and done, when we just received new and upsetting information. We all think Republicans should abandon their nominee now that he’s been convicted of 34 felonies. That’s new and upsetting information as well. Top Democrats — Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi — and senators, representatives and other candidates who face losing in November need to ask this president to voluntarily step aside.

All of the scary stories that we’re being told about what would happen next are simply not true. In all likelihood, the money in the Biden-Harris coffers could go to help elect the presidential ticket and other Democrats. The new nominee wouldn’t be left off ballots in Ohio. We Democrats have a very exciting bench. We don’t anoint leaders or fall sway to a cult of personality; we vote for a president. We can easily foresee a group of several strong Democrats stepping forward to stand and tell us why they’re best qualified to lead this country and take on some of the deeply concerning trends we’re seeing from the revenge tour that Donald Trump calls a presidential campaign.

Let’s hear from Wes Moore and Kamala Harris and Gretchen Whitmer and Gavin Newsom and Andy Beshear and J.B. Pritzker and others. Let’s agree that the candidates not attack one another but, in the short time we have, focus on what will make this country soar. Then we could go into the Democratic convention next month and figure it out.

Would it be messy? Yes. Democracy is messy. But would it enliven our party and wake up voters who, long before the June debate, had already checked out? It sure would. The short ramp to Election Day would be a benefit for us, not a danger. It would give us the chance to showcase the future without so much opposition research and negative campaigning that comes with these ridiculously long and expensive election seasons. This can be an exciting time for democracy, as we’ve just seen with the 200 or so French candidates who stepped aside and put their personal ambitions on hold to save their democracy from the far right.

Joe Biden is a hero; he saved democracy in 2020. We need him to do it again in 2024.

https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1811052123603247418 (twitter.com)

Responses:

Michael Douglas adds his voice on The View today -- (link*) - Pelosi Jul 10, 09:41
and how the NYT news side chooses to cover Joe's opponent after yet another psychopathic rally performance -- (link) - hollywood big shot Jul 10, 08:53 1
- I mean...Joe has literally ZERO chance of winning this election when every media org is printing or airing nonsense like this 24/7. - Jovian Jul 10, 09:02
Tell me again, George, how you were going to fix the actors strike? -- nm - Mop🧹 Jul 10, 08:48
"You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing, after they have exhausted all the remaining time to do it." -- nm - Churchill Jul 10, 08:41 1
- Yup -- nm - Pippy Jul 10, 08:51
They (his admin) is just waiting out the clock until DJT names his 'Himmler' - Jovian Jul 10, 08:29 28
- Do you really think Biden's dropping out? You really think they're gonna go with Kamala? nm - Turd Ferguson Jul 10, 08:30 27
  - If he drops out I don't think the nominee will be Kamala. I don't know who would run or would even want to run. -- (edited) - Krusty Jul 10, 08:36 25
    - If he were to drop out (and he shows no signs of doing so), Kamala is the only real option at this point. -- nm - ty97 Jul 10, 08:44 5
      - Trump beat Hillary, Trump would beat Kamala. -- nm - LFG Jul 10, 08:55
      - You'd think the black asian woman with a record of being tough on crime would be perfectly suited to an election against a convicted felon attacking - oblique Jul 10, 08:52 3
        
        I haven't assessed who I think would be a better candidate (Biden, Harris, someone else). I think you torpedo the party if you skip over Harris though -- nm - ty97 Jul 10, 09:07
        
        and yet -- nm - Pippy Jul 10, 09:03 1
        
        heh, and yet we live on Earth 2 where all nightmares come reality. - Jovian Jul 10, 09:06
    - He's not droping out at this point he's dug his heels to far in -- nm - eag Jul 10, 08:38 8
      - He might not have much choice in the matter come convention time. -- nm - Krusty Jul 10, 08:42 6
        
        The convention is too late for ballot access in some states. -- nm - Dano Jul 10, 09:15 1
        
        Plus, the war chest is *his* and KH. -- nm - LFG Jul 10, 09:17
        
        what makes you think that? The pledged delegates won't unpledge and as of yesterday a whopping total of 6 congressmen (of 213) were calling for him - decline Jul 10, 09:01 2
        
        I don't think that but was trying to point out that the choice may not be his own. -- nm - Krusty Jul 10, 09:04 1
        
        This would be like the Democrats holding a bazooka to Joe’s head while the exhaust port in back is pointing at their dicks. - Will Hunting Jul 10, 09:43
        
        They ain’t overthrowing him. He won the nomination. - Will Hunting Jul 10, 08:45
      - Well imo what else is he supposed to do? "Oh Im thinking about it? I havent decided yet?" - Jovian Jul 10, 08:41
    - But do they have a choice in the matter? -- nm - Turd Ferguson Jul 10, 08:36 9
      - Here's an article from The Washington Post about their options. -- (link) - Krusty Jul 10, 08:40 1
        
        That article doesn't begin to address the effects of campaign finance laws and state election law issues (getting on the ballot). - pmb Jul 10, 08:51
      - Sure. They don't have to go with Kamala. They can choose anyone they want at the convention. The later it gets the less options there are to change - Krusty Jul 10, 08:38 6
        
        if you want to lose the entire black vote, by all means pass her over -- nm - hollywood big shot Jul 10, 08:44 5
        
        She's not going to win even if she brings out the Black vote as there are way too many people that seem unwilling to vote for a woman. - Krusty Jul 10, 08:52 1
        
        yes and yes to the IM -- nm - Pippy Jul 10, 09:04
        
        If she is the replacement and she looses then she can't come back in 2028 -- nm - eag Jul 10, 08:47 2
        
        if she loses there won't be an election in 2028 -- nm - hollywood big shot Jul 10, 08:51 1
        
        *ding* -- nm - mud Jul 10, 08:53
  - I do. - Jovian Jul 10, 08:34

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NYT-George Clooney: "I love Joe Biden. But we need a new nominee." (full article text inside) -- (edited)

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