All purpose news and politics thread part VII: News & Politics Total Landscaping

[Robotman]

Unfortunately, Gavin Newsom coming from California will deter a lot of voters. Despite having the largest economy in the US the state still has a stigma. I think swing voters would be turned off by him and the GOP would have an easy time proclaiming that he’s a crazy liberal who wants to turn the county into a crime ridden San Francisco-like hellscape.

[Koriand'r]

Unfortunately, Gavin Newsom coming from California will deter a lot of voters. Despite having the largest economy in the US the state still has a stigma. I think swing voters would be turned off by him and the GOP would have an easy time proclaiming that he’s a crazy liberal who wants to turn the county into a crime ridden San Francisco-like hellscape.

It's far easier to portray Biden as a doddering old man that's out of touch and out of time.

Let's not forget that Ronald Reagan was governor of California too.

[Anthony Shaw]

It's pretty simple.

Someone gave this guy the job. No Republican forced the person handing out the job to pick the person that they did.

(Unless you have the scoop on some blackmail material that the everyone else knows nothing about...)

You still did not answer my question.

I will not pursue this any further.

Take care

[Jack Dracula]

It's far easier to portray Biden as a doddering old man that's out of touch and out of time.

Let's not forget that Ronald Reagan was governor of California too.

You really seem to want to push that narrative.

Newsom isn’t interested in running right now so your argument is pointless.

Reagan sucked ass too btw.

[numberthirty]

Newsom isn’t interested in running right now so your argument is pointless.

Reagan sucked ass too btw.

That the guy is a likely non-issue doesn't mean that the argument is pointless.(never mind framing it as an "Argument...")

While it most likely will not happen, it's not like there is no discussion to be had about if pulling the fire alarm might be a sensible move.

You've even got Carville talking about what Biden not taking the Super Bowl interview adds up to.

[Tami]

Yeah, that’s kind of what I thought. Thanks

Come 2028 and I would not be surprised if he gave it a shot then.

[Koriand'r]

That the guy is a likely non-issue doesn't mean that the argument is pointless.(never mind framing it as an "Argument...")

While it most likely will not happen, it's not like there is no discussion to be had about if pulling the fire alarm might be a sensible move.

You've even got Carville talking about what Biden not taking the Super Bowl interview adds up to.

When Dems have lost James Carville we've lost a lot. I'm not beholden to Newsom, I just want us to weigh our options and do something. It's apparent that Joe Biden isn't going to fall on his sword, although despite what he says Newsom would probably run if he did. Carville wants a change in candidates too, Kamala is great but can't beat trump. So who should we pick? Who else has a national profile and the leadership it takes to run in Biden's stead and not fracture the party?

[numberthirty]

When Dems have lost James Carville we've lost a lot. I'm not beholden to Newsom, I just want us to weigh our options and do something. It's apparent that Joe Biden isn't going to fall on his sword, although despite what he says Newsom would probably run if he did. Carville wants a change in candidates too, Kamala is great but can't beat trump. So who should we pick? Who else has a national profile and the leadership it takes to run in Biden's stead and not fracture the party?

Well, anyone would need to be realistic about how the odds are that anyone except Biden is on the ticket in the fall.

To me, I'd say that there are weak spots outside of his age that folks should be more concerned over.

Worrying about unlikely "What If?..." scenarios?

Probably less fruitful than thinking about how to make the best out of a bad situation.

[Reverse Happy]

Donald Trump says he would encourage Russia to attack Nato allies who pay too little

On Saturday, Trump claimed that during an unspecified Nato meeting he told a fellow head of state that the US under his leadership would not defend any countries who were “delinquent”.

“One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, ‘Well, sir, if we don’t pay, and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?’” Trump said, adding “I said, ‘You didn’t pay, you’re delinquent?’”

“No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills.”
[...]

Our Republican presidential frontrunner. And people are worried about Biden's acumen? What are swing voters even smoking?

[Jack Dracula]

When Dems have lost James Carville we've lost a lot. I'm not beholden to Newsom, I just want us to weigh our options and do something. It's apparent that Joe Biden isn't going to fall on his sword, although despite what he says Newsom would probably run if he did. Carville wants a change in candidates too, Kamala is great but can't beat trump. So who should we pick? Who else has a national profile and the leadership it takes to run in Biden's stead and not fracture the party?

“Not beholden to Newsom” but still pushing the idea despite no indication he wants to run.

Seems like you’re more interested in creating an anti-Biden narrative than anything.

[Tendrin]

Carville also hasn't been relevant for years.

But wanna know what IS relevant?

(The Hill) — Nearly half of transgender people in the U.S. have considered moving to another state because of legislation in their home state that threatens to curtail access to things like gender-affirming health care, public restrooms and school sports, according to a survey published Wednesday by the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE).

But I guess we should be more concerned with whether or not Biden said 'mexico', which he has been talking about a lot, and meant 'Egypt', which he also been talking about a lot.

But I guess I think that we should be more concerned with the persistent idea of the GOP to make states hostile to and for a minority, and to control women.

[Reverse Happy]

The Ukrainian Garrison In Avdiivka Fought Hard And Fought Smart. But It Didn’t Count On Republicans Cutting Off Ammo Supplies.

The main lesson the Ukrainians must learn, and quickly, is that they cannot predicate their strategy on a steady supply of weapons and ammunition from the United States. U.S. support was critical to the Avdiivka holding out for as long as it did despite the city being just five miles from one of the biggest concentrations of Russian forces in all of occupied Ukraine. The end of U.S. support late last year—the consequence of Russia-aligned Republicans gaining a slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives—was the decisive factor in the gradual collapse of Avdiivka’s defenses. In short, the defenders simply ran out of ammunition. Ammunition the Americans once supplied.

Before Russia widened its war on Ukraine in February 2022, Avdiivka was home to 30,000 people and significant heavy industry. After February 2022, many of the civilians began leaving—and the 110th Brigade dug in for a long defensive campaign. Twenty months later, the 2,000-person brigade still was there. It was early October 2023, and the Russian 2nd and 41st Combined Arms Armies—together with around 40,000 troops and thousands of vehicles—rolled toward the city. For two months, the Ukrainians not only held the line, they inflicted devastating casualties on the attackers—by mid-December killing or maiming 13,000 Russians and knocking out several hundred vehicles.

Ukrainian correspondent Yuriy Butusov in November explained how Avdiivka might continue to hold. He advised Ukraine’s eastern command to reinforce Avdiivka’s flanks. In blocking a Russian encirclement from the north and south, the 110th and adjacent brigades could turn the lowlands around the city into “a great shooting range for our guns.” Indeed, that’s exactly what happened. The elite 47th Mechanized Brigade rolled into Stepove, just north of Avdiivka, with its tanks and American-made M-2 fighting vehicles. The 53rd Mechanized Brigade set up in Sjeverne, three miles west of Avdiivka, stiffening the southern flank.

As shocking as Russian losses were around Avdiivka in the initial assaults, they seem to have gotten worse later in 2023 as Russian commanders held back their remaining vehicles and sent in the infantry, on foot. It’s possible, as Avdiivka teeters in mid-February, that the Russians may end up paying for its capture—more accurately, demolition—with tens of thousands of lives and nearly 700 vehicles. In manpower terms, that’s the equivalent of losing an entire field army.
[...]
Which is not to say Avdiivka’s fall was inevitable. It was a choice—by Russia-aligned Republicans in the U.S. Congress. When these lawmakers declined to approve further aid to Ukraine starting in October—coincidentally, around the same time the Russians attacked Avdiivka—the guns the 110th Mechanized Brigade was counting on to turn Avdiivka’s flanks into a shooting gallery began to fall silent. America was, after all, the main supplier of artillery and rocket ammunition and modern armored vehicles—including the fearsome M-2s—to Ukraine’s war effort. Ukrainian artillery quickly went from matching Russian artillery’s firepower to firing just a fifth as many shells as the Russians do. By last week, the 110th’s ammo stocks were “extremely small,” Butusov warned. Two-pound drones packed with a pound of explosives and ranging just a couple of miles couldn’t replace 155-millimeter artillery shells packing 25 pounds of explosives and ranging 15 miles. Increasingly unafraid of Ukrainian guns, Russian troops in recent days could walk to within small-arms range of Avdiivka’s Hrushevsky Street.
[...]

Squandered time doesn't come back.

[Tendrin]

The Ukrainian Garrison In Avdiivka Fought Hard And Fought Smart. But It Didn’t Count On Republicans Cutting Off Ammo Supplies.


Squandered time doesn't come back.

God, it makes me so angry. Fucking traitors.

[comictimes]

The votes they get in the primaries determine who is the candidate.

Are you now dissociating the number of votes they get from how popular the candidates are?

[CaptainEurope]

Has Newsom ever hinted he wants to run for president? Has he said that if it wasn’t for Biden he’d run?

He keeps getting asked, and every single time he replies with an enthusiastic endorsement of Biden and Harris.

I guess he understands that Biden is a very capable, succcessful president and that it would be foolish to give up the incumbency advantage.