Stewart is basically calling for a primary, which we already had, nobody significant seemed interested in running. I voted in the primary, there was more than one person to vote for, Biden even lost his primary in American Samoa. To say there was “no primary” is a lie, and suggesting a party swap out a candidate who already won a primary, and by doing so throw out the votes of millions of Americans who participated in that primary process, is anti-democatic. Do you want people to switch parties and vote in the republican primary? Because that’s how you do it. Did the DNC learn nothing from getting caught trying to crush Bernie’s primary chances? You lose voters you disenfranchise, period. I don’t care how good the DNC’s policies are, if my primary vote literally does not matter, why would I ever vote in their primary again?

To say there WAS a primary is a lie, the other credible candidates were forced out. Claiming that a coronation is a primary is how you lose voters.

Which candidate(s) were forced out?

Anyone? Or are we just going to downvote anyone asking for evidence that there “was no primary” when there very clearly was one.

It’d be perfectly reasonable to say something has changed and we need to reassess Biden as the candidate. You’re not doing that, you’re lying about the process to try and get people mad because you think that will motivate them. There was a primary. No one serious ran against Joe Biden. This was not just a Biden/DNC decision. All those better candidates people are suggesting also made the same exact calculation.

I mean, I’ve answered this so many times that I’m copy-pasting at this point, but the answer is Dean Phillips. He was the only real Democrat challenging Biden, he was kept off the ballot in half the states, and he was run out of the party for challenging the incumbent. They forced him to step down from leadership, they got someone to primary him for his house seat, and he’s not running for reelection. He even encouraged other members of Congress to join him in running so their could be a real primary, but no one else was brave enough to do it, and for good cause; he was literally forced out of Congress for challenging Biden.

He was the only real Democrat challenging Biden, he was kept off the ballot in half the states

And in the states where he qualified and was in the ballot? How badly did he beat Biden?

He even encouraged other members of Congress to join him in running so their could be a real primary, but no one else was brave enough to do it,

This is what I’m getting at. Alllllll those other better candidates made the CHOICE not to oppose Biden. They weren’t prevented from doing so, they just came to a different conclusion than you did. No one stopped Gretchen Witmer from getting ballot access and running a primary campaign. No one stopped Josh Shapiro from running a primary campaign. Hell Biden wasn’t even on the ballot in NH and he still beat Phillips. There is no serious candidate who wanted a shot and wasn’t given one. They all had a shot, and they all said “not this time”.

he was literally forced out of Congress for challenging Biden.

Gonna need a source on this one. He stepped down from leadership because he didn’t agree with the rest of the caucus on issues. I’ve seen absolutely nothing claiming he’s not running for reelection because the party forced him out. Are there any votes, statements, etc you could point to here?

His presidential campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, did an interview on The Lever where he talked about how the DNC controls the primaries to protect the incumbent President, and he goes into more detail on the rat-fucking they gave Phillips. It aired on July 1st, and it should be available on whatever your preferred podcast platform is. This is twice now that you’ve made me answer things you could have learned on your own, so I’m gonna ask you to be responsible for your own ignorance going forward.

This is twice now that you’ve made me answer things you could have learned on your own, so I’m gonna ask you to be responsible for your own ignorance going forward.

I asked for a source to a claim YOU made. It’s not my job to make your arguments for you. Maybe be prepared to back up your claims and not be an asshole about it? I’m going to watch the interview, and if there’s a case to be made I’m more than happy to reevaluate what I’ve said.

You also demanded to know which candidates were forced out, left a snitty reply when you didn’t get an answer, then gave combative answers to the only two people who did bother to answer you. The retaliatory nature of the DNC isn’t exactly a secret, nor is the control they try to exert over the primary process, so you could find information on this yourself. I have to assume you either haven’t done any research or just don’t want to know.

You know what, that’s fair. I was being a bit of an asshole and I apologize. I’m listening to that Sirota/Weaver interview now, thanks for the recommendation.

We still disagree but I don’t think we’re enemies so there’s no point in attacking each other. I’ll let you know my thoughts when I finish the podcast.

I have to assume you either haven’t done any research or just don’t want to know.

I honestly looked for statements from Phillips and Williamson prior to you linking that interview. I did not think to look for his campaign manager, Phillips has been relatively quiet.

Fair enough, sorry if I was a prick too.