“Yes, we can.”
- Biden on the hustings: Keep him (as) scripted (as possible), prudently and symbolically masked and on the offensive–as well as the empathetic. Juxtaposition matters, especially in key swing states. Biden and Trump are the very definition of contrast–from character to competence–and incumbency isn’t the advantage it typically is. Not when so much of what is wrong and worrisome right now would not be part of the “new normal” were it not for the commander-in-carnage. Life is manifestly fraught—but the only thing we have to fear—is the fearmonger-in-chief if he gets another four years. November is a zero-sum referendum on existential hope or epic fear. Keep playing the hope and not fear-card, Joe, along with a normalized foreign policy and a domestic agenda that keeps the Bernie Bros. on board—especially on climate (note how that worked for A.O.C-supported Sen. Ed Markey in his surprise Massachusetts primary win over Rep. Joe Kennedy)–as Trump doubles down on law-and-order optics and anarchist riffs that drive his consummate wedge issue while placating and motivating QAnon.
- It’s a given that the 2016 Bernie Sanders presidential candidacy ultimately helped thwart Hillary Clinton. A lingering sense of grievance over a “rigged system” led to hardcore-progressive hissy fits that eroded the Democratic vote. Sanders’ disciples could tell that his late, lukewarm endorsement of Clinton was nominal. It was never a secret that Sanders got along a lot better with Biden, a friend, than with Clinton.
Nothing that Bernie Sanders has said since Biden became the de facto and then official Democratic nominee has resonated more with the Biden campaign than when Sanders recently leavened his progressivism with political pragmatism. “At this moment, what we need to do is engage in coalition politics with the goal of defeating Trump,” said Sanders. Exactly. What good is being an egalitarian, humane, zero-sum progressive—if you’re not doing everything to thwart another term for this regressively odious regime?
- The Biden campaign netted a record-shattering $364 million in August.
- The public outrage over President Bone Spurs’ myriad episodes of military disparagement—and scathing commentary from prominent members of the military and intelligence communities—has obvious election implications. Polls now show a notable drop in Trump approval ratings among the military rank and file. It could certainly be a factor in Florida. The Sunshine State has 20 major military installations and is home to more than 1.5 million veterans–none of them identifying as “losers” or “suckers”–the nation’s third largest vet population.
- If Barack Obama’s legacy, already diminished because of Trump’s shocking victory, is to include more than winning the (previously lily) White House, it will have to happen via a Biden win.
- Douglas Emhoff, 55, Kamala Harris’ husband, could make history along with his wife. He would be the first Second Gentleman. By all accounts, the Brooklyn native is smart, engaging and friendly. No, he won’t be a difference maker, but, yes, he’s no ToddPalin.
- “They’re going to vote for Joe Biden, because he is a remedy of what ails folks right now.”—Adrianne Shropshire, executive director of BlackPAC.