Democrats’ Concerns About RFK Jr. Rise
Category: News & Politics
Via: robert-in-ohio • 10 months ago • 87 commentsBy: Story by Kellie Meyer
I have been reading in multiple sources (on the right and on the left) that a run by a third party candidate or multiple third party candidates would surely bring about the defeat of Joe Biden.
Those on the left liken a third party candidate (and those that might vote for that third party candidate) as the harbinger of the apocalypse and the fall of democracy as we know it.
Those on the far right are not as sure as they realize that they will lose many independent voters, moderate Republicans and disgruntled Democrats that might have just stayed home rather than voted for either Biden or Trump would now have a name to check the box.
I am not sure what the true effect will or could be, but I think that the American voter should have as many choices as possible and that it is not for those on the left to say, "Yes we agree, but not this year".
Bring RFK, Jr, bring on No Labels, Bring on the Green Party let's get them all on the ballot in all 50 states.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Robert F. Kennedy Jr .’s campaign says it has gathered enough signatures from registered voters in New Hampshire to qualify for the state’s ballot in the general election — an announcement that has some Democrats nervous.
After months of speculation about the credibility of his campaign, Kennedy found success in a small battleground state nonetheless, giving Democrats pause that he could muddy their path to the White House.
....
Kennedy is fighting to get on the ballot in all 50 states, a feat he’s achieved in two so far. He believes an independent is the perfect candidate at this moment in history.
“I think that I have an opportunity to actually break that [partisan] logjam because right now, any issue that comes before Congress is siloed into the Republican or Democratic camps, and the other side can’t vote for it,” he told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo. “But I think if we have an independent president who plays it right down the line, that it will give permission to senators and congressman from both sides to actually do their job … to vote on bills that actually make sense for our country without punishment from their own party.”
A hot issue, with strong opinions on both sides.
Come out swinging, but limit the vitriol and discuss the issue, the potential candidates of any and all parties
I would ask that we not attack each other and that each commenter maintain as much poise, civility and good manners as they are capable of - we all know our limits.
Tags
Who is online
523 visitors
Responding to criticism from Democrats who argue he is hurting Joe Biden’s chances of beating Trump, Kennedy said he doesn’t think Biden “needs my help” losing to Trump. He argued the president has no real campaign strategy for winning.
“I think what they’re gambling on is that maybe these court cases are going to work and take Trump out of the race,” Kennedy said.
nobody that's sane votes for any wack-job candidate with so much personal baggage. a 3rd party candidate in this election would only serve the purpose of the dark money supporting the idea, and they're looking for a side door to have a trump congress override the will of the electors.
Makes no sense whatsoever to write in a whackjob or vote for a whackjob.
Makes no sense whatsoever to write in a whackjob or vote for a whackjob.
I couldn't agree more, which is why I will not be putting a check mark in the box for either Trump or Biden - I will make sure that I do not write in a whackjob either
rfk, jr. is a whackkjob. go ahead and throw away your vote. i don't give a shit what you do
The sensible thing to do would be to vote for President Biden.
Well, sure, if practically open borders, inflation, deficits, and proxy wars are your thing, Biden's your man!
That certainly doesn't exhibit any sense to me.
Attitudes such as this, is how ole Trumpy got elected and became the cult leader he remains to this day. We need not the possibility of another Trump term, as it should be denied in any legal means possible, the 'man' is not correct in the mind.
What a waste of a vote to not vote for President Biden - or to write in a loser like rfk,jr. or to vote for him if he's in the race, is deplorable and despicable.
What a waste of a vote to not vote for President Biden - or to write in a loser like rfk,jr. or to vote for him if he's in the race, is deplorable and despicable.
Millions of people in this country would say that to vote for Biden or Trump is (to use your words) deplorable and despicable!
Agree, I won’t be voting for either major party if the 2 current front runners are at the head of the ticket.
If at the last minute the democrats drop Biden for health reasons and Harris isn’t the nominee I will no longer vote for a democrat ever, because that level of dishonesty isn’t something that they can explain in my opinion.
it's deplorable and despicable to vote for trumpturd or rfk,jr or anyone but President Biden
I will no longer vote for a democrat ever, because that level of dishonesty isn’t something that they can explain in my opinion.
I think absolute statements are usually wrong, and I have not seen a lot of honesty in either of the major parties in recent years. I look at candidates in our village, our county, our state and the nation based on what "they say" they strand for and what "they say" they will do, evaluate the veracity and likelihood and then choose who to vote for without regard for party affiliation.
I sleep good at night, so that process works for me
I agree, and no amount of 'justification' to vote for either loser will ever be enough for such a thoughtless vote.
While I agree with this assessment of Trump, that is the exact assessment millions of people in this country are making of Biden
Yes, there are millions who believe Jesus, and Trump, will come back shortly to fix all their problems and usher in the Apocalypse!
It's not true regarding President Biden and it's mostly the gqp and the alleged moderates/alleged independents/ CONservatives who are saying otherwise.
Bunch of freakshows and whackjobs attracted to the biggest freakshow and whackjob of all.
JBB
It is most certainly a cult
Before I will give any third party candidate the time of day they will have to prove they are legitimate. That means the party had better have a proven track record. That is going to take more than 1 election cycle.
If the Libertarian Party with Gary Johnson couldn't even manage 10% of the popular vote in 2016 (by the way he took away more Republican/Conservative Trump votes than votes for Hillary); then what chance does any third party have now? Maybe the only thing worse than Clinton/Trump is Brandon/Trump part one and by the looks of it part two.
At the end of the day it will still either be Brandon or Trump.
I for one will not waste my vote and allow Brandon and the Democrats four more years to wreck this country further. The damage they have done to the FBI/IRS/DOJ and this country's legal system will take years to repair- if it can be at all.
So you will waste your vote on Trump?
There’s some talk rfk jr might end up as trumps VP nominee, which is too much crazy to contemplate.
Absolutely no way
Utterly ridiculous, unless you hope for Trump II
Utterly ridiculous, unless you hope for Trump II
John
I respect your opinion on this matter and would ask you a couple questions, you must accept a couple of givens.
Given #1 - There are many people who will never vote for Biden
Given #2 - There are many people who will never vote for Trump
Given #3 - There are many people in both of the above groups (i.e. will never vote for Biden or Trump)
Those people have two options - vote for a third party candidate or stay home.
Questions for you
Is it better for Biden or Trump if they just stay home?
Is it better for Biden or Trump if they vote for a third party candidate?
Knowing that these people (hundreds of thousands, maybe millions) will never vote for Biden or for Trump, what do you want them to do?
I would appreciate it greatly, if you would just answer the question directly
People can vote for whoever they want. NO ONE should be promoting a third party candidacy this year, and trying to pretend that is a viable choice.
Why? Because it might take votes away from your candidate?
If the tables were turned and it might negatively affect Trump, you would be all for it. Which simply illustrates the bias of your thought process.
That said, I agree. A vote for a third party is a wasted vote right now. I long for the day when that isn’t true but that ain’t today.
You would make that statement no matter what year it was.
The important part of your answer was "People can vote for whoever they want."
Thank you for a direct answer to a direct question.
Ooooh scary. Another American exercising a constitutional right. Must quash him since that boy doesn’t goosestep in exact unison with my preferred narrative.
Pox on JFK Jr, pox on him …..
RFK Jr, unless you are Q-Anon. JFK Jr died about 20 years ago...
Once again …. I rest my case
No, you made mine. JFK Jr died in a plane wreck in 1999...
Nah, you know I meant RFK which again just further reinforces my point. The triggering continues …..
You can vote for RFK Jr in your Democratic primary if and when you register as a Democrat. RFK Jr is anti-vax nuts...
JFK Jr died in 1999.
You'd have to be nuts and a moron to vote for rfk,jr
or anyone but President Biden
I'm all for more choices at the ballot box, especially in this case where it's looking more and more like this year will be a Biden v Trump Take 2. But Kennedy? I can't even listen to him in a non-scripted setting because he cannot seem to make a simple answer. He talks and jumps around to multiple items, all within a single sentence with a lot of 'umm' and pauses that drive me up the wall. No way I want someone like that to represent this country on the main stage.
But I do think it's funny listening to the talking heads about how he will siphon away votes in a general election. Who he siphons votes away from all depends on which side of the political spectrum the talking head resides. Hell, the last independent candidate who stood any sort of chance was Ross Perot back in 92 who won almost 19% of the popular vote and still didn't get a single electoral college vote. So I doubt Kennedy will make that big of an impact this year.
Well, you can’t be very pleased with the last three years then …..
This is not complicated, at all. Even though he is a total crackpot, there is no doubt he will take more votes from Biden than Trump, for a couple reasons,first and foremost is the nature of MAGA. DeSantis thought he could erode Trump with MAGA in certain ways, and he totally failed. MAGA wants Trump and Trump only. No MAGA is going to consider voting for Kennedy.
Then there is the Kennedy name, which still will attract a straggling of Democrats. If his name was Jones he wouldnt have the polling he has now.
Now Democrats are using No Labels to pre-position a scapegoat for Joe Biden. The polls show Biden losing to Trump in a two idiot race; there isn't a need for a spoiler. But, of course, Democrats have to find someone else to blame.
The polls show Biden losing to Trump in a two idiot race; there isn't a need for a spoiler. But, of course, Democrats have to find someone else to blame.
I have seen all kinds of polls and they go both ways on the head to head - and a lot of them favored Haley more in a head to head with Biden than Trump
It doesnt seem to bother you much that a traitor, Trump, has a chance to become president again.
Do you agree that Trump tried to steal the 2020 election, or not?
Trump did nothing to try and stop the Capitol riot, and then told the rioters he loved them.
He couldnt be dirtier on the subject of the election and Jan 6.
You seem to be struggling with reading comprehension.
It does bother me, a lot which is why I have not and will not ever vote for him. I also will not vote for someone that I also do not think is qualified for or the right man at the right time for job just because he isn't Trump.
I totally think he tried to influence the 2020 elections in his favor, he did nothing to try and stop the Jan 6 fiasco and I think he should be convicted in at least a couple of his trials currently ongoing.
But I am still not voting for Biden.
How can you claim that our current President is not qualified to govern when he is capably leading a functioning government now?
The number one qualification for becoming President of the United States is organizing a campaign and winning an election. Both of which Biden is proving still quite capable of. He already did those!
Can you articulate what Biden is doing that you dislike so much?
[deleted]
Not until he is done laughing at "he is capably leading a functioning government now".
Not all would agree
And I am not sure that organizing the campaign is the most important function of a president.
Just like the president before him, Biden is not leading but simply coexisting with the chaos in the government
The better presidents of the past have provided leadership to promote cooperations rather then dissension between governing factions and parties - neither Trump nor Biden has done that at all.
Third party candidates in 2024 will almost certainly help Trump.
I understand you dont intend to vote for Trump or Biden, but you are here promoting the idea and even the need for a third party candidate (s) in this election. Now is not the time to be promoting third party candidates in general such as you have repeatedly done now on this forum.
Yea, why should anyone promote voting for who they may think would be the best for the country.
Now is exactly the right time
Just like yesterday was the right time
Just like last year, last election, last decade, next week, next month and next election is exactly the right time.
There should be 3, 4 or whatever number of candidates for president and other offices on all ballots in all states and it should start and be effective right now.
I will continue to advocate for the citizens/voters of tis country to have the multiple choices they deserve so that they can choose to vote for whomever they desire and not just for a D or an R.
RDtC
That is exactly the point
It's amazing how some advocate for chaos every 2 years, why not let the pendulum settle in the middle, a coalition government, or we can continue to cry that nothing gets done as power shifts between the parties every election.
Nope, it is anything but the "right time".
There is always an excuse why now it is not the "right time".
Very few people committed to voting for Trump will consider anyone else. On the other hand, Biden voters are more reasonable and may be subject to considering someone else.
These facts suggest strongly that third parties in 2024 would help Trump get elected.
If Trump voters were not largely deluded it might be different , but its not.
I don't think anyone committed to vote for Biden or Trump would consider anyone else. It is the moderates and independents that would consider someone else.
This election cycle it is not the right time because it is Trump, next election will not be the right time because MAGA or the squad are becoming the face of the party. Like I said there will always be a reason why you should not vote for who you think would be best for the country. That will continue as long as both sides feel it is their way or the highway.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA........................That's why we see, "vote blue no matter who" Democrats are the definition of sheep, what you will lose is independents.
[deleted]
It's moronic and idiotic, [deleted]
No, you are the one struggling with comprehension.
You'll note he never 'articulates' an answer to the question.
Not true. All nonsense.
Absolutely the right time - and the right of all voters all over the country to have as many choices as they need to vote for the candidate they want for president
I am advocating for the citizens'' right to look at as many candidates on a ballot as they desire before they choose who to vote for in a very important election
So you are saying even Biden supporters don't think he is the right person for the job, interesting
Tessylo
Thanks for the political acumen and insight - it is always appreciated in these important discussions
It will be amazing if Joe Manchin jumps in under no labels, he will take RFK's support as well as 1/2 of both trumps and Bidens supporters.
Manchin speaks with a forked tongue. Don’t believe a word he sez
That would make him exactly like Biden and Trump and most others in the swamp we call the nation's capital.
Another Democrat wants some the votes of democrats dissatisfied with President Biden and it is in a swing state ---
Democratic Biden challenger Dean Phillips asks Wisconsin Supreme Court to put him on ballot
Democratic Biden challenger Dean Phillips asks Wisconsin Supreme Court to put him on ballot (msn.com)
Joe Manchin thinks that neither Biden nor Trump should be president going forward --
Senator Joe Manchin says Biden's White House is dominated by 'far-left liberals' and admits he could 'absolutely' see himself as president
Senator Manchin continued
Senator Joe Manchin says Biden's White House is dominated by 'far-left liberals' and admits he could 'absolutely' see himself as president (msn.com)
Joe Manchin has no chance to win the election. Zero.
No third party candidates does.
You are likely correct, but the American people have the right to have him on the ballot to try and prove you wrong.
If having a middle of the road "Democrat" on the ballot as a 3rd Party candidate takes a few or even a lot of votes away from Biden then perhaps Biden is not the right candidate for all of the voters that don't want Trump
Then it shouldn't bother anyone if he or Kennedy or anyone else runs.
test
ping
Give me one ping ….. one ping only Vasily …..
Democracy: What a concept.
I am all for more ideas in government, but right now is not the time for a third-party candidate.
Right now, we have two competing ideals that drive elections. One of these ideals is far-right and purports to be for freedom and rights, but that freedom and rights is not for all. The proponents of this ideal can say all day that they are for "equal rights for all" but then there is the list of exceptions. Any member of the LGBTQ population, well no they aren't really accepted in that "big" tent. Immigrants are, as long as they have the capability of producing immediate capital gains, otherwise, we can take those unwashed masses and send them back where they came from. The other of these ideals that drive elections is middle-ish to far-left and also purports to be for freedom and rights. I think that their claims to be for freedom and rights are more genuine than the other selections, so that is who I am voting for. Sorry, I have to leave this comment here because I am falling asleep.
Your references to far-right and far-left are the exact reasons that it is time for a third party (maybe a fourth and fifth) on the presidential ballot right this year, in the primaries and in the general election.
"middleish" is the reason more than two parties are needed on the ballots
Appreciate your perspective
A third party? A nice dream until we release the strangle hold the existing two parties have on the process. Need proof?
Last time a third party candidate made some significant noise was Perot in 1992. He got nearly 19% of the popular vote. That’s a lot. The most by a third party candidate in over 80 years. The last election to date that the Dem nominee got less than 50% of the popular vote in blue bellwether states like California, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
And yet he won no states, got no electoral votes. That’s the last time I waste a vote on a third party until something is done to fix the existing system. Until then a vote for a third party is just a wasted vote imo.
I would agree. The gap between the two leaves most of the bell-curve Americans looking for something to vote for instead of against. I used to be of the persuasion that said, "Vote for something." I lived in Washington state at one time, when this girl came around and told us all of the reasons not to vote for a particular Senator. When she got done I asked her, "I agree for the most part, but who are you for?" One must have someone to vote FOR. Not just against. For.
That said, at this particular juncture in our national history, there is no way that I could conscionably vote and not have that vote be for someone of good character and morals. This of course counts Trump out, but not just out. (I would have voted for a cold cup of spit over Trump in 2020.) I will not favor Trump with a vote, nor will I favor anyone who does not stand the best chance of winning against Trump a vote. I will vote for the best chance of never seeing him again. I feel that he is a stain on humanity and must be told convincingly to go away. I hope that he dies penniless and in the gutter, reliant on those programs that his party and people like him would do away with.
In case you haven't figured it out, I am an unabashed liberal. I am also a libertarian, small "l". Normally I would vote for the Green Party or some such. Party's have their own voters. Let them vote. Not now. Every rational, sane human being in the country has to recognize the peril that electing Trump again would cause. He has shown absolutely no propensity to follow the Constitution if it does not favor him. His existence in politics is purely for the power that it brings. Any thought of steering him this way or that reaches the dead end of his ego. His cannon are loose, his wheel can be tended only by him. Both he and the lunatic fringe in Congress have to go, along with every person who voted for his attempted theft of the Presidency. It is That bad.
Personally, I do not think that Joe Biden has done badly as President. I welcome the added productivity of immigrants, no matter their income level. They are a boon to the economic outlook of any area they go to (on balance). They bring a willingness to work. And I have run out of steam once again......