Messagng again: short and snappy defensive/aggressive retorts

Biden retorts to MAGA darts.. These are passive/aggressive and turn the tables while avoiding political science jargon.: Also: attack MAGA and Trump now ( not the whole GOP); later accuse candidates of being MAGA Avoid the MAGA cult phrase: still respect even the worst's motivations. Note the contrast-making.

Biden's too old: Oldie but goodie; vs.Trump oldie but scary

Biden's too old: Yep. walking slower, but thinking faster, wiser, and better. Experience counts.

On MAGA cult worship on Ukraine and wrecking NATO:: Being puffed up masculine while boot-licking and bellying up to a bully like Putin is not macho

On loving a Strong leader": Dictators and autocrats feather their own nests and their loyalists, not yours.

On presidential immunity from criminal prosecution after leaving the White House (from my earlier posting): License to kill, cheat, and steal while in office

On election denial and fake electors: a failed scheme to keep votes against Trump, your votes, from being counted. They are planning to do it again

On reproductive rights (federal bans): (here is where all GOP is worth attacking): GOP wants to take it away from all women; Dems want to restore them to all women

On immigration crisis: (best from Gov. Hochul) Dems and conservatives produced a solution; MAGA broke it.( my words: they own it. pottery barn rules)

On NATO and Trump's long-time plans to kill the allliance and let Russia do the hell they want with NATO allies: two most historically consequential stupid quotes: Neville Chamberlain on Nazi annexation of Sudetenland:: "Peace in our time" and gave the green light for Hitler to begin World War II. Trump: Let Russia do the hell they want with NATO allies. Belly up to an aggressor only whets their appetite.

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2024/01/translating-trump-and-maga-euphemisms.html

Ageism as an issue gets a level playing field

 The ABC/Ipsos poll is the first poll that shows Trump's age is also as big of a negative as it is for Biden since the Hur report..  This is despite the MAGA media that keeps hammering at Biden's age alone. and ignores the calcified mindset and misspeaks of Trump.  The blowback began, MAGA. Careful what you think is a good strategy, it already has leveled the playing field.   An Ipsos poll after the Hur report shows Americans think both Trump and Biden are too old for a second term.  ipsos.com/en-us/majority-americans-think-both-biden-and-trump-are-too-old-serve-second-terms

  So Biden missed a step in an interview by special counsel Hur the day after Hamas massacred Israelis. Maybe he didn't chew gum as he walked across the street that day. Per Hur, at least Biden was well-intentioned, if elderly.  At least Biden on most other days has been the most effective in getting his agenda passed in Congress and held foreign enemies like Russia and China at bay since LBJ.   Trump's brain is stuck on top of the golden escalator as he spews hate and fear of others who are not White and Christian and mixes up current leaders for his nemeses Obama or Nancy  Pelosi.  Trump is not well-intentioned,.

Here is another choice:  One, Biden supports the form of government we have had for 250 years and the other wants to rip it up to benefit him if he gets in office again. Biden is wise and experienced and Trump is a wannabe dictator who wants to make America weak again, a real threat to our national security, to enhance his power to himself as a "strong leader".

 However, the real danger to Democrats is what this equivalency does to the independent voters who think the solution lies in casting a vote for some third-party candidate that only helps Trump win unintentionally.  What will be clear by Super Tuesday, if not yet dawning on them, that is dangerous wishful thinking. Reality check: third parties don't have much of a chance to even make an impact enough to win a national election because of the structure of the electoral college.  The electoral college is state by state and all but two depend on the popular vote in their respective states and give the entire take all electoral votes to the winner.  The role that third parties do play is to have enough votes in a  swing state or two to split the support of the two candidates of the major parties and unintentionally swing the election to the candidate they did not support.  Excellent analysis when that happened: https://thehill.com/opinion/4308326-matthews-how-a-third-party-candidate-could-create-political-chaos/

https://www.justsecurity.org/92090/the-real-robert-hur-report-versus-what-you-read-in-the-news/

Why the GOP is losing older voters. Six good reasons.

Update: 4 8 2024     Let me add one more reason seniors are switching to Biden. It is a generational change, per this piece in the New York Times. My generation, the silent one, has died off, with only 20 percent of us still living (the good news, bad news for me). Instead, it has been replaced by the All in the Family generation, disillusioned with the lies told us about Vietnam and the bigotry and xenophobia exposed in this classic TV sitcom. The silent generation grew up with radio; the one now coming of old age had the visuals of TV with the impact much more visceral than movie newsreels, photos, and just voices. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/04/06/upshot/older-voters.html

Continuing with the original post:

Aside from the GOP hurling constant insults at Biden for his age (seniors know people's brains age at different rates, and so do their bodies), there is a reason why voters are showing a preference for Biden in a recent Q poll in Pennsylvania. and other polls dating to 2020. As an older person myself and with adult children and their spouses approaching or arriving at 65 years old, let me give six good reasons besides the GOP insulting Biden's age and abilities just because he is 3 years older than Trump. 

  1) We lived long enough to remember what it was like before Roe v Wade and the days when women could not apply for credit without their husband's approval or any political statements made by women in media or in politics were considered not credible because they came from a woman's emotional brain.  Age brings memories of when it was worse.

 2) We lived through Vietnam and the Cold War to see BS when we heard it as BS and to question BS and see Putin and China as the same adversaries as before: all about power, just without the ideology of Marxism as the reason. We understand how dictatorships, communists, fascists, or whatever work and what political freedoms mean.  Age brings wisdom.

 3) W got a good education in civics and American history which the younger generation did not get.'National Survey Finds Just 1 in 3 Americans Would Pass Citizenship Test - Institute for Citizens & Scholars (citizensandscholars.org)

 4) Moral leadership still has value, and Trump is not a moral person. P grabbing and infidelity are not moral.  Lies, in the face of fact and data, are not moral either. There is still something credible about data and evidence.  Age brings us memories of higher moral standards.

5) Civil rights and tolerance of others are a moral value and worth the struggle of the movement. Many old people have moved on to more tolerance on the basis of fairness and acceptance of diversity within their own families and in the workplace, sports, and military service. We remember the violence of the resistance to the civil rights movement...Age brings with it real-life experience.

 6) Policies that take away access and qualifications to Medicare and Social Security are a threat to old people's well-being. Every time the GOP advocates to "save" those programs by cutting access to them, seniors revolt and ask why not give them taxpayer support instead. Obamacare is a bridge to give affordable access to health care until those over 50 with aging bodies and health problems are not yet eligible for Medicare. Hands of Obamacare, GOP.   Aging has special needs, and the government can help meet them. 

Why older voters have stuck with Biden more than younger generations | CNN Politics

Older voters flee Trump, solidifying Biden's advantage in the 2020 race (nbcnews.com)

Biden's old guy advantage with older voters - POLITICO

Forgotten Purpose: Civics Education in Public Schools | NEA

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/americans-oppose-most-trump-policies/ar-AA1mPgWu?ocid=socialshare&pc=DCTS&cvid=b1985bfa8fa14970849a5b58c9d57617&ei=18

https://www.newsweek.com/social-security-changes-planned-if-nikki-haley-wins-election-1859696 

Number of Voters as a Share of the Voter Population, by Age | KFF

        This demographic of voters over 65 is the second largest group of those who vote...a close second to the 45-64 group.  To ignore this group is a political miscalculation.and malpractice.

FACT: Nikki Haley Is Coming After Social Security and Medicare - Democrats

Vintage Trump: Simpleton mind wrapped in a macho cloak.

Update 10/19/2023

Biden's address to nation on Ukraine and Israel-Hamas put the issue in context in simple terms. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/10/20/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-unites-states-response-to-hamass-terrorist-attacks-against-israel-and-russias-ongoing-brutal-war-against-ukraine/.    Biden's cloak: pro-democracy

Vintage Biden: Biden may look frail in body, but he is strong in mind, heart, stamina, and guts. Years as the chair of the foreign relations committee in the Senate and as vice president and on a first-name basis with world leaders past and present mean wisdom and ability to take leadership on the world stage in the midst of Israel/Hamas. He has a bank of knowledge of unintended awful consequences of well-meaning naive actions in a complex world. Bden is strong in heart with the ability to convey he cares about humans and conveys it with deep empathy. Guts? Going into war zones from Ukraine to Israel. He landed in Israel in range of Hamas rockets as air raid sirens had been blaring. His flight was even riskier than his 10-hour train ride from Poland to Kyviv. Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/world/in-tel-aviv-bidens-embrace-of-israel-came-with-a-gentle-warning-2-2733222 His body held up through punishing personal diplomacy trips abroad, and his mind was shaped by warning Israel not to do anything stupid in reaction to the Hamas attack as the US did after 9/11 when taking revenge out on Iraq. and Afghanistan when the actors were Saudi religious fanatics. We know how that ended. His heart directed aid to the innocents and non-combatant Palestinians yet gave emotional aid and comfort to the Israeli victims and survivors. and gave priority to hostage recovery. His moral clarity is on display.

It is a complete contrast with Trump, who is admittedly "transactional", what is good is doing what is the best deal for him. He has no moral standard; lies and cruelty to others are only tools used in getting to the deal.

Vintage Trump: His simpleton mind wrapped in a macho cloak caused simpleton policies on national security from Ukraine to Israel. The range Trump respects: number of feet to the next golf green. His bravery? Private bone spurs.   Up-to-date spin from Donald Trump. lies and distortions. https://www.newsweek.com/key-moments-donald-trumps-cedar... Trump's foreign policy is BS in a china closet. The problem is the wilfully ignorant MAGA followers will still lap it up., If the MAGAa do not believe Russia, Iran, and China are out to eat our lunches, and appeasement, isolationism, and flattery will protect us even if they are threats, welcome to 1938. We know how that turned out. Among Trump's" profound" comments in Iowa, Gen. Milley is stupid, and Trump's body is younger than Biden's, and his daughter and wife are really the complete packages physically..so that makes him better than Biden, and he can end conflicts within a few minutes. .\

One truth he did utter:: his body looks younger than Biden's. Trump's body may look better than Biden's, he boasted, but what is inside needs help, lacking the common sense, a lifelong reputation of good behavior, and wisdom of Biden. Unfortunately, Trump's mind and his attitude are closer to the adolescent reported by relatives, the one who used to hide Playboys in his prep academy dorm room. He never stopped leering, but he boasted about p grabbing, carried out his fantasies, and was found liable in a recent lawsuit. His high school education was in the military academy,a school where out-of-control adolescents used to be sent to a boot camp to straighten out their bad behavior. His emotional development never matured, it appears. Trump Sent to 'Reform School' As Teen for Bullying, Niece's Book Says (newsweek.com)

. The reason he fired back at General Milley as stupid, is a projection of his own ignorance.https://news.yahoo.com/top-general-called-trump-idiot... That is just one recent comment from generals calling him ignorant, or worse.

Trump seems unaware of the history he ever learned, forgot, or the class he slept through. He thinks like a simpleton and utters simpleton strategies that have dire unintended consequences when others in the past have attempted the same approach( 1938 Munich). Example of his stupid simplest thought. Just end the Ukraine conflict in a few minutes...easy, just hand Ukraine over to Russia and then fight them in the Baltics, instead, and with our NATO troops actually fighting? or wipe out the Palestinians to save Israel and ignite a real widespread war?? (FYI: it was not the Palestinians that just invaded Israel, it was Hamas... Trump is BS in a china closet, ignorant at best, self-serving, a danger to national security, neither caring about it or the humanity factor).

On Israel, most observers believe that what motivated Hamas to take their kamikaze attack on Israel was a policy both Trump and Biden embraced, Forging a peace agreement between Israel and the Arab world (being negotiated now with Saudi Arabia) in the face of Iranian aggression, that was leaving Hamas, an arm of Iran, isolated. They also picked a time when wannabe strongman Netanyahu was focused on trying to consolidate his power and eliminate an independent judiciary, making for a distracted, divided country. Now, Hezbollah (another Iran proxy) is threatening Israel with a two front war.Hezbollah Issues Threat to Israel, US as Hamas War Escalates (newsweek.com). Like Trump, Netanyahu was facing indictments. Like Trump, he was trying to weaken democracy.

That is a warning to the US. A reelection of Trump, who is setting out to do likewise, causing chaos and distraction, would make the US weaker again, and vulnerable in a world of bad actors like Russia and China. MSN

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/a-danger-to...

NEWSWEEK.COM

Key moments from Donald Trump's Iowa speeches

Trump covered a wide range of topics, from Israel to Ivanka Trump.

e

Joe Biden 's age: Democrats can and should answer that and then shut up.

What is at stake is more than about Biden's perceived condition as being too old to serve a second term.  It is about the continuity of the country's direction set in motion by Biden and the team Biden has assembled in his administration that would remain in place no matter who leads if he was unable to complete a second term.

My son an international business consultant. recently left  EU  borders to travel to a non-EU member country. He presented his passport to border officials who asked him, "Trump or Biden?. He avoided getting into a prolonged conversation, so he answered: "One is too old, and the other is crazy". All three, the border guards, and he broke into laughter.  That is the question the world is asking, and now the opinions about Biden's age reached a crescendo, dominating columns and media on both sides of the political divide. 

The discussion should be more than about Biden, one person. It should and can be about the team and direction of the country. It is about considering the alternatives, not only to Biden but the MAGA GOP.. Democrats need to promote the team the administration's direction that would be in place regardless if  Biden sits in the director's chair, stop whining, and quit agreeing with the GOP. 

Democrats need to focus on continuing the course Biden has set, which is in contrast with MAGA's promise of conflict, retribution, and chaos. Biden has shown in the past four years, in spite of the perception he is old and feeble, he has been extremely effective in implementing his agenda; the question is, can he continue for four more years. There has been no indication he is not able to maintain that level of engagement.   He owes much of his success to the team he has assembled. It is a matter of total speculation, though "what if" is a valid discussion that applies to both  Biden and a three years younger Trump. 

Trump may appear macho, but his mind is frozen in a lifetime of narcissism, using fear of retribution, scofflaws,  and demagoguing to benefit his self-interests.  What if Trump also has health issues? He has a history of writing his own annual physical result report, trying to mask the seriousness of his COVID-19 infection, using a flunky to write it, and recently an outright lie about height and weight when being booked in the Fulton jail. He may look robust, but that has he been hiding? What The GOP needs to answer that one, too. What "if"? More extreme MAGAs? 

 The next issue: Can Biden beat Trump in the coming campaign? Biden's case: he has done it in 2020. If Democrats focus on the larger issue of the direction of the nation and the contrast with MAGA, he can do it again.  Focusing on his age issues is unhelpful as campaign season begins..

 David Ignatius of the Washington Post, a true heavyweight in shaping views, raised eyebrows with a column arguing Biden should not run again because of his age.  He faced pushback on MSNBC from Host Mika Brezinski.  If not Biden, who? Ignatius could not offer an opinion. Mika challenged him, " Aren't you criticizing VP Kamal Harris as one not worthy or able to step in if Biden became unable to continue in a second term? (For the record, I think Harris has it in her on the basis of pre-VP performance,  but she has not been given much of a chance to show it).   Ignatius, however, inadvertently answered himself in the discussion when he failed to answer the question of who not, if not Harris or Biden. Whoever the Dems pick, he said, will have the Biden team he has assembled to carry on.  Biden has a great, capable bunch of advisors, and that would still be in place whoever took Biden's place as a candidate would be in place.  Wait a minute. David Ignatius.  Isn't that also be the reason Harris should also be acceptable.  She, too, would have te team behind her.  That is the answer to Harris jitters: the administration and advisors would also be in place to back up Harris and continue the success Democrats are praising and touting now on behalf of Joe Biden's record..

https://time.com/5105096/donald-trump-physical-exam-transcript/

Doctor: Trump Dictated Letter Attesting To His 'Extraordinary' Health : The Two-Way : NPR

Donald Trump prison: No, he does not weigh 215 pounds like he told the Fulton County Jail. (slate.com)

Washington Post columnist David Ignatius says Biden should not run for reelection | The Hill

Did Nikki Haley just play the race card?

 Shame on her. Nikki Haley looks like she just played the racial card in an attempt to take away the women's vote for Biden and or to differentiate herself from the GOP wannabe Trump alternative pack.. Intended or not, it was a dog whistle. She is playing the age card., but it is unbecoming. Trump is only 3 years younger than Biden. It is distasteful to be on the death watch of either candidate, but all seems fair in love and political warfare.

On ageism: While Trump in exile played golf and met with his defense attorneys, vowing retribution, revenge, and purging if he got re-elected, poor old Biden kept hitting hole-in-ones. Biden, in the meantime, keeps a killer pace of flying around the world to garner support for Ukraine and enlarging NATO in the face of Russia's aggression in Ukraine. Way too old Biden even got Trump's failed agenda passed: upping American manufacturing and taking it away from China, and Trump's annual infrastructure wishes and promises were turned into reality by poor old weak Biden. Using holdovers from Trump's old FBI to prosecute Trump was not in Trump's playbook, nor were indictments against Trump based on Trump's former staff members' testimony, either. Ooops. If Trump's hopes were a show of force by militias loyal to him and those who also rioted on January 6 on his behalf, that they were under the impression they would be pardoned, more ooops., Trump's closest loyalists and political advisers got the pardons. And now he pledges 1000 arrested will get their pardons to crimes most of them already pled guilty to. It is expected he will pardon himself if convicted and he serves a second term in office. The law and order GOP and Democrats have traded places. The once security hawk pro-military GOP trashes the CIA and military preparedness and traded places with the Democrats Biden, the cold warrior. Trump's third finger has been raised at laws he refuses to obey and he is being accountable even by judges he appointed... If Trump thought he would replace the federal bench with his own, poor old Biden has gotten more non-Federalist society-approved types approved by the Senate than Trump did, keeping the balance in the judiciary lower courts. https://www.msn.com/en-us/neo Poor old Joe.

19THNEWS.ORG

Nikki Haley’s attacks on Kamala Harris keep coming

The former South Carolina governor has made the vice president a key political target — above Biden, and certainly above her contenders in the GOP primary field led by former President Donald Trump.

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