I think you are assuming way to much rationality on the part of Republican voters. Republican politicians will just blame the Democrats, immigrants, and DEI for the failures, and Republican voters will eat it up.

It’s not low by some economist’s standards. It’s low by every economist’s standards. Economists don’t agree on much, but they agree on this. Under all circumstances in every economy there are always “a lot” of people looking for employment .

Again, I don’t doubt or disagree with your assessment of your situation. Again, I support you. It’s not the economy making the safety nets so bad. There is plenty of money to pay for it, we just don’t. It’s not the economy attacking unions, it’s the employers and many politicians. It’s not the economy allowing companies to fire striking workers, etc. the economy is fine. It’s the labor system that’s broken, and no economy will fix that.

Watch those goalposts just leap all over the place. Now we’re supposed to litigate your idiotic interpretation of the railroad strike? You haven’t forgiven him? The railroad union has. In fact they thanked him for his involvement in negotiating with the railroad and getting them a better deal.

Who said anything about TV? You’re on the Internet. The year is 2024. You aren’t really this stupid.

Ways like announcing his support of the union and intention to still go despite the canceled speech? Yeah, he did that. Harris could go, sure, but Biden is going.

I never said his security is “too difficult”. I just takes time to work out the details and plan where he will go, how long he will be there, and how he will be protected. There is no need for him to announce specifics at right this fucking second anyways. Again, Biden is the only President who has ever walked a picket line with workers.

I seriously don’t think you can be as dumb as you pretend. Another agenda is at play.

4.1 is an exceptionally low unemployment rate. An unemployment rate of 1% would be beyond impossible to achieve and would certainly cause out of control inflation, yet there would still be over 3 million people unemployed. That’s still “a lot” of people. That’s not something that any economy fixes. Most of those people are going to be unemployed because they haven’t found the job they want, not because they can’t find any job. For instance, tech workers get laid off all the time and typically take their time finding the right next position.

The president’s position was quickly cheered by the staff union, which declared on X: “Thank you, @JoeBiden for respecting our picket line and upholding union values!”

Like I said, Biden is still going, so there is no “inaction”. The agenda just hasn’t been announced. Do you have any clue what’s involved in putting the President on the street with workers? We know it can be done because Biden has done it before, unlike every president before him. However, it’s not something that an administration is going to be able to announce on a whim the moment his plans need to change. Seriously, get a fucking clue.

I don’t doubt any of what you are saying and I support you. However “this economy” isn’t the problem. This current economy has been fueling the first expansion of union membership in decades. That doesn’t mean it’s going to help every worker in every industry, but that’s due to industry specific factors, not the economy as a whole.

I don’t know your industry, and I don’t know what Biden might have done or not done to impact your situation. All I’m saying is that the broader economy isn’t the issue.

You seriously have no idea what you are talking about. Biden is not canceling his trip to Pennsylvania, he is just not speaking at the convention. The people on strike are the administrative staff for the NEA that is hosting the conference, and they have thanked him for “respecting our picket line and upholding union values!”

The revised agenda for his trip has not been announced, but that’s hardly surprising with everything involved in last minute planning of a presidential visit. It’s almost certain though that he will meet with the union.

4.1 percent unemployment is not a sign of an economy that favors bringing in scabs.

There is a surprising variety among even those who call themselves Marxists or anarchists. Some are way more practical than others. Marx was first and foremost a critic of capitalism, and his criticisms were way ahead of their time and right on the money. Anarchism covers a whole lot of ground that I wouldn’t consider anarchism myself. The umbrella basis for anarchism is anti-authoritarianism. To me, that makes them less extreme than authoritarian socialists like in the Soviet Union or China. I’d consider myself an anarchist, but only in the margins that realize that government does play a critical role in establishing and defending freedoms.

I don’t really think you can say for sure who has a better team

Really? Just look at how many members of Trump’s campaign and whitehouse staff have been charged or convicted with felonies. Look at how fast he went through chiefs of staff. Look at who is running his campaign today.

You got Trump right as a reactionary, but he is in no way a neoliberal. Neoliberals are not my cup of tea, but they are absolutely nuts for things like civility, following established norms, inclusiveness, immigration, and free trade.

Biden is a lifelong neoliberal who has miraculously made some pretty major moves away from neoliberal policies. It’s a shame the term “Bidenomics” flopped, because there really is something to it. The Biden labor department has made significant changes to aid in unionization. The Chips Act and Inflation Reduction Act have brought a lot of key manufacturing back to the US, which is the antithesis of neoliberal doctrine.

Trump’s economy was a disaster even before COVID hit. Supply chain issues started with his tariff war, unemployment was already growing, and inflation was already speeding up.

Even a Biden 20 years younger wouldn’t be my choice of president but, against Trump, there is no contest.

If we toss aside issues of ideology to focus just on technical ability to perform, I think you are missing a key factor. Electing a president is also electing the administration, and a president can only be as good as the people they surround themselves with. Biden knows how to assemble a solid team, while Trump doesn’t. Trump is also incapable of listening to food advice, even in the rare instance where he allows it to be given to him.

Look at the issue of the newly expanded presidential immunity. The President is sheltered from prosecution for issuing an illegal order, but his staff is not required to follow that order. Which candidate will surround themselves with people who respect the law, and which candidate will surround themselves with lackeys?

I find that foolishness is spread pretty evenly across the political spectrum. I think most people believe what they want to believe and figure the “details” will work themselves out. Anyways, here in the US, the “far left” means things like universal healthcare, which seems a lot saner to me than the alternatives.

Neither of us live or are from the USA. So I don’t think this is relevant here.

A lot of foolishness is born in the US but doesn’t stay here. It might still be relevant.

he said he wouldnt drop out unless “lord god” told him too.

I don’t think that’s exactly a fair characterization. He was being given a list of one person after another with “what if X asked you to drop out?”. It would be complete idiocy for him to say yes to any of that. So, he used the “lord God” expression to make it clear that his answer wasn’t going to change. Whether or not he is open to dropping out, he’s not going to nod in that direction publicly unless he’s already decided to do it. Frankly, it was a dumb line of questioning.

I just want to beat the Republicans and Trump. Biden is certainly a liability in that regard, but replacing him might be worse. Any replacement would almost certainly be another establishment lackey, and Biden has surprisingly been the best establishment president we could hope for. I think he is still very capable of being president, but I don’t know that he is capable of campaigning for president.

If your friend calls themselves a libertarian, then my starting assumption would be they are wrong about everything.

It’s true that Trump made some kind of declaration as President, but that was pretty much a meaningless gesture. The US actually has no official list of domestic terror organizations, only foreign. In any case, calling antifa a terrorist organization is absurd.

A quick note on libertarianism: I consider myself a libertarian, but what passes for libertarianism in the US is anything but. Libertarianism is a left wing political philosophy, while the US Libertarian party is far right. It would be more accurate to label them as anarcho-capitalist.

A smart move on Biden’s part. A neurological evaluation isn’t a test that is going to come back with a positive or a negative. No matter who took the test, there would be a wealth of statistics for dishonest actors to distort.

I suppose he could take a simplified screening test like Trump did, but that was not done by an independent neurologist.

That’s right wing gaslighting.