Look at all the cool stuff Biden has done!

[minx]

Alrighty then.  I have been assured by numerous Democratic pundits of all the good things Biden has done (and I do agree that he has done a lot to stabilize the country and economy).
I've also been assured that I shouldn't worry that this isn't being discussed anywhere - people will realize it by next year.

I truly want some of the shit these people are smoking.  Because it's clearly only of the highest and purest quality.

People are going to realize by next year???  WTF?

Yes, he has done a lot of good - stabilizing our relationships abroad, so that we can gain back some of the status we lost in the prior administration.
Actually providing states money to upgrade infrastructure and create some new jobs.
Telling the FTC to start looking at giant corporations to see if they're violating anti-trust laws.
Trying to get student loan forgiveness approved and not giving up that battle.
Putting some controls in place to reduce the chaos at the southern border.
Giving the Fed free reign to regulate interest rates to prevent a recession.

But, I suspect the average person sees this.
Lots of unfilled potholes.
Lots of new Amazon fulfillment centers and data farms rather than smaller businesses.
Their kids crippled with student loan debt, or being shut out of any type of secondary education completely.
News stories referring to the crisis at the southern border.
Prices going higher and higher while their paychecks stay the same.

So what has Biden done for us?

If these idiots don't start yelling from every street corner and getting their achievements in front of people, then Biden doesn't have a hope in hell.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

Oompf.

I couldn't vote for Biden again unless it's a vote against trump or desantis, and if there's no change for the better with VP (that would have a very fair shot at succession during a second term), that adds even more trepidation.

Other than that I'm waiting and watching for alternatives.

[minx]

Well, right now, I'm figuring it's Biden or nothing.

Cause Trump is the front runner for the Republicans, and the others are psychopaths as well.

Like you, I wish Biden had stepped aside and allowed others to enter the ring.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

I know you'll want to slap me in the face for this blasphemy by I don't think trump is a viable candidate and/or will certainly not be come election day. In that the Republican party itself would not survive if he were to lose again, then I'm willing to be wrong on that chance to put this shit to an end one way or another.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

Doesn't it stand to reason that more people will go and vote against a convicted criminal, not just the criminal they lived in denial about? Have the majority of Republican voters literally gone insane or will they at the very least sit this one out?

Once upon a time a scumbag was a scumbag and everyone knew full well not to cover for scumbags. Now those people worship at the feet of a scumbag?

I just don't see it but I'm trying to keep my pessimism in check a little more for more reasons than just this nonsense.

[minx]

The problem is that they see that asshole as some sort of martyr so clearly he's not guilty!

Same people would call for any other person who took classified documents to be hung at dawn with no trial too. I honestly don't get it. I truly don't.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

I don't either but I won't allow myself to believe that his base of the completely insane has increased since 2020.

For my own sanity, I just can't believe that.

[k9krap]

I think Biden has done an amazing job, especially given what he was left. I am greatly disappointed that he gave in to Manchin and allowed drilling in the arctic but understand why. He’s a negotiator. I don’t think anyone else could have navigated the debt limit crisis like he did.  And I really don’t have an issue with Kamala.  

[Dave's Not Here Man]

Amazing? Come on, really?

That's what the lowest of low expectations does for us. The absolute bare minimum.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

The 800 pound gorilla in the room- inflation. Inflation that despite a law to curb it, is beyond anything I've seen in my lifetime.

A 5 pound bag of white potatoes is $5. Not amazing. A box of Cheerios is over +$6 and the only thing amazing there is that someone will pay it.

SNAP and Medicaid recipients have had the only stabile things they could rely on literally jerked out from under them. See the article on how 83% of medicaid patients were cut off the roles in Texas a few days ago. Not a goddamn word from this administration on what it can do to restore the profoundly deteriorating social safety net including a single attempt at improving ppaca let alone universal health coverage. Not. Amazing.

War in Ukraine has moved him to provide untold and I mean because we may never knew, billions of dollars in cash and equipment to fight a proxy war that will at best result in a second cold war. Not amazing.

No quarter for what he had to deal with as he was the guy that was above all supposed to be experienced in how to patch those holes.

[k9krap]

Inflation is everywhere. All over the world. And the US is recovering much much faster than any other western country.  And, although inflation is subsiding, companies aren’t reducing prices.  There is a lot of corporate greed out there.  The canceling of assistance is NOT his fault, but Congress’.  

One man cannot do it all.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

I'm expecting to hear "and one day it will just magically disappear".

That short list above was the tip of the iceberg that I'm less than amazed by. I think what would go a long way would be if he would fucking acknowledge these things and update us in camera that first, this is what is happening and this is what I have been doing to rectify them. Without googling for news stories, tell me what you know about the status of the Inflation act, his baby, starting with what the effect on inflation it has had. Remember that those laws cost billions of your dollars to enact. How much do you know about what he has done, let alone even spoken out about the snap and Medicaid roles being gutted across the country. Or the PPACA. He campaigned on bolstering it. Heard anything other than crickets on that? Me neeeeether. Very little leadership in terms of keeping the country's attention and a tragic result of that is that helps keep all the attention on Monmouth.

I am only currently satisfied that the tyrant to be was removed and someone who is just another politician took the office, but I absolutely refuse to be a supporter of the party of barely good enough.

[minx]

I agree with you - he should be shouting from the rooftops about corporate greed and how inflation has actually come down, but they refuse to lower prices.

And why no one is up in arms about what's happening to Medicaid recipients is criminal - most of those people are being kicked off the rolls because of 'missing' paperwork, despite having provided it in person.
No one in the administration seems to care about that, even to the point of pointing out that it's wrong and people are hurting because of it.
We won't talk about SNAP. We simply won't.

And I agree with you on Ukraine. We're supplying them with cluster bombs for christ's sake. Why are we the only country taking a stand here? I say that the rest of Europe should start doing something.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

I admit that I seldom watch the nightly news shows or the news channels for that matter, but has anyone seen Biden in tv at least once a week on say, 60 minutes, MTP, appearing on daytime tv talk shows, or even on the big ones with the long reach like CNN MSNBC networks?

I assume he takes the podium a couple times a week maybe? What does he say to the people about these and many other very important everyday issues? It's not that difficult to explain to people how the problem was created, how it affects everyone but especially how it impacts the elderly, sick, disabled, scores of active military and vets, as many of them are easily among the working poor.

I'd like to hear what his exit strategy looks like for Ukraine. I've heard someone say "when Russia is defeated"... Or something like that. Looking for something more detailed since only the magats would accept that from their leader.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

www.cnbc.com/2023/08/10/biden-seeks-nearly-40-billion-in-funding-for-ukraine-disaster-relief-and-border-.html

Not 40 billion in aid for well, you know, us. The whole defense budget is $800b and I've seen a. Unch of these multibillion aid packages to our surrogate's war on Russia. How much snap could that buy?

[Dave's Not Here Man]

///
And again, shouldn't the public get some kind of explanation right from the guy behind the aviator's glasses? Maybe he'd have a chance to sway my opinion. Maybe not. The point is the communication.

[k9krap]

Since I have no television, and I seldom watched news anyway, I have seen nothing about any politician on tv.

As far as Ukraine goes, other countries are providing arms: Germany, UK, France to name a few. And I feel we should give them what they need to destroy Putin. Whatever they need. And they are already holding meetings to discuss diplomatic resolutions.

[minx]

Sadly, while other countries are providing arms and some aid, no one is doing it on the scale that we are. We even sent over cluster bombs! And that's where I part ways with this. It's one thing to help them fight back. It's another to send weapons that most countries have banned as completely immoral (the collateral damage done by them is off the chart).

Before we send anything else, I'd like the other countries in NATO to start stepping up to the plate in a major way. I think we should be in there helping - Russia needs to be stopped from expanding when Putin feels like it, but I'm getting tired of being in the forefront.

Meanwhile, there are countries in Africa who are desperately fighting to keep some sort of freedom intact and they along with the civilians are getting slaughtered. Read some stories about what's happening in Niger and the Congo and it will chill your blood. Where is the public outcry about them?

[minx]

And for John - Heather Cox Richardson's blog from this morning

At the same time, the country is ending one of the last pieces of the social safety net put in place during Covid: the rule that people on Medicaid could remain covered without renewing their coverage each year. That rule ended in April, and states are purging their Medicaid rolls of those who they say no longer qualify. In the last three months, 4 million people have lost their Medicaid coverage, mostly because of paperwork problems. (Texas dropped an eye-popping 52% of beneficiaries due for renewal in May.)

Biden officials have tried to pressure states quietly to fix the errors—including long waits to get phone calls answered and slow processing of applications, as well as paperwork errors—but yesterday released letters it had sent to individual states to warn them they might be violating federal law. Thirty-six states did not meet federal requirements.


See, enough of this 'quiet pressure' - Biden needs to loudly decry what is happening. He doesn't have to name states - most of us know who they are after all. But he should be standing addressing the American people and decrying people being kicked off of Medicaid like this - the elderly, the disabled, children (can't call out able-bodies folks who don't make enough to get by as we all know they have bootstraps) and promise that states who cannot show that they have made every effort to find these people, and who cannot prove that they are following proper procedures to make sure they actually aren't eligible any longer, will face consequences.

None of this quietly sending letters shit. Proclaim what the policy is, and state clearly that you're going after states that violate it - I'm sure he can find more than enough folks battling to keep eligibility to offer up stories on how this hurts ordinary people - he doesn't have to say what state they are from - just say it's happening across multiple states and needs to stop NOW.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

Im exhausting this I know, but how about some receipts? We have spent well over 100 billion (with this 40 that will surely be approved) and what did/will we get out of it other than another protracted war that could lead to a direct conflict between Russia and NATO?

Cost aside, that is the only correct answer to how this ends.

I would start winding down the aid and shoring up NATO countries in that region. Let Putin have no doubt that attack on any is an attack on all.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

Minx, that's exactly what I'm saying. The other party has it down pat on keeping their base engaged... even if that involves a lot of antagonizing, they are not shy with their politics or policies, and absolutely relentless with the volume knob.



Can't keep loosening the lid for Biden or any Democrat for that matter. I see very few carrying the crowd lately.

[minx]

Exactly - where are the party leaders who should be carrying the water for Biden. Crickets.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

Crickets.

[minx]

And they'll all be shaking their heads in bewilderment next year when they lose.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

It's slow-pitch journalism in my opinion, a story this morning that both directly and indirectly addresses a couple of my points of contention here.

apnews.com/article/biden-inflation-reduction-climate-anniversary-9950f7e814ac71e89eee3f452ab17f71


They say inflation is lower but they don't tell you how the average person would have any clue that was the case. So either they're talking in alternative facts, or this type of inflation- the type that causes the price of all consumer goods to double and triple, downsized packaging, etc- apparently, it's not the same as deflation. I call bullshit on all of it but if one sentence ever summed up the current state of affairs it's "I shouldn't have named it that"

[minx]

The other part of this is the Democrats in the House and Senate. None of them are in any sort of cohesion about anything it seems. OTOH, the Republicans are pretty much in lock-step with their core principles - dismantle what's left of any government safety net, ban abortion and any type care or support for the LGBTQ+ community, cut taxes on the rich, and destroy public schools so for-profit charters can take over.

And they make sure their message gets out through numerous spokespeople. Much as we might roll our eyes, MTG, Tuberville, Gaetz and their ilk do a great job of making sure their followers remember that the True Evil destroying our country is socialism - money being taken out of YOUR pocket and being given to selfish, lazy people. And money being given to weirdos to have gender changing surgery. And if that's not enough, these people want to destroy your moral values by teaching your children about things you don't want to hear!!!

Where are the Democrats speaking out and saying the opposite and showing how their policies help all Americans? Because in the end Biden can scream from the rooftops about every accomplishment he's done while in office, but if no one in his party also starts shouting about what the issues are and how the party as a whole can change things, we're all doomed.

For example, inflation.
Multiple sources will show you that the economy is stabilizing under Biden and note that price increases are not due to economic policies set by the government, but by corporations increasing prices to increase their profits.
How many Democrats have you seen or heard calling this out? One would think they'd be decrying corporate greed and using this as a prime example of why large businesses need to pay their fair share. But crickets.

Meanwhile, Republicans keep hammering away at the one thing people notice - prices have gone up a lot since Biden was elected. And one thing we all can agree on regardless of party is that the price of shit is out of control. If you're swaying in the wind, and can't afford groceries, who's voice is calling the loudest to you right now? Never mind that Trump and his ilk have absolutely no plan to change this - all those people hear and see is that things have increased since Biden took office - at least under Trump, we could eat, right?


And that's the shit Democrats should shit their pants about. Stop trying to convince people that Trump is the AntiChrist. Point out what you yourselves will do to combat higher prices and put out bills to do something. Let the Republicans shoot them down. At least that way you can SHOW that you're trying to fix things!

[Dave's Not Here Man]

I think blaming anflation on corporate greed is just as lazy as blaming it on "Bidenomics. Both are to blame or neither. I don't know how many years I've been typing this but ever since the subject of raising the FMW to $15/hr arose, I knew exactly what was going to happen and guess what chick'nbutt? Just like taxes, the conpany doesn't pay for them, we do. The perception of lazy people that don't want to work is pretty well supported when you look and see all the minimmum wage jobs that are unfilled. I've also predicted that some of the policies and decisions that were made even a decade ago were going to show up in a different column, in a negative way, at some point in the future and I believe that time is now. Think The Iraq war, the Bush Tax cuts, the PPACA, upto the Proxy WWIII and others. There's never just one cause and I've seen nothing from the so called professors of economics that have ever been able to adequately define how inflation happens and what it would take to prevent it or to cure it. Such is why we have by far the largest and most expensive military in the world, I suppose.

[minx]

While you have a point, I still say that corporate greed is one of the strongest drivers of inflation.

Yes, minimum wage has gone up, which is good. But other wages haven't kept pace in any way, shape or form.
And as you noted, corporations pass on the increased costs by increasing prices.

But, I also think that there's a lot of monopolies that are being formed with the government doing nothing about it. Biden is one of the first in years to actually even give some lip service to it, but it takes years for the FTC and FCC to prove that a company is a true monopoly and break it up. And that kills all of us.

Look at all the small mom and pop stores and restaurants put out of business by the likes of Walmart and companies like Darden Restaurants (they own Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Red Lobster and others). Hard for a small restaurant to compete with a place that can afford national ads, or can operate at a volume that you can't.

But it's also not just that as you've noted. And I suspect the pandemic has a lot to do with why those minimum wage jobs are going unfilled.

But yeah, it's complicated - I just wish that someone would start pointedly asking folks like the Walton Family why eggs are still so expensive now that supply chain issues are fixed. (as an example)

[Dave's Not Here Man]

So I didn't say the corporate greed thing isn't a major contributor because as some of the folks I subscribe to will point out, capitalism and globalism were made for each other and of course the wider the net, the bigger the boat and harder to sink. Small business has now been swallered up in their wake.

Again, this could easily change tomorrow if the consumers had the resolve.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

I forgot to mention the pandemic. No doubt there are going to be long term impacts of many kinds as a result. At least Phizer will be ok.