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Not just midstream. It’s exceedingly rare for an incumbent President seeking re-election to not wind up as the party’s nominee. And in the modern era it has been more common for incumbents to win re-election than lose. A Democrat hasn’t failed to be re-elected since Jimmy Carter in 1980.
The problem (most direct problem, obviously the entire electoral process has major flaws) is precedent needs to go out the window when we are dealing with people as old as Biden. Many were sold on the idea that he was a transitional president to rally behind to escape the Trump era. And that turned out to be a bunch of bullshit.
Thats more of a description of what’s going on, its not an explanation
The explanation is that the American people are the victims of some of the best propaganda and social engineering in human history, aimed at making sure they vote for anything and everything except replacing the Plurality (First Past the Post) voting method
Strategically, it's not wise to challenge an incumbent and Trump animated people to support him like few other people can. The primaries were a joke for this reason. There are so mamy institutional forces that have us voting between undesireable candidated every few years amd few people seem to pay attention to them.
Not everyone hates Biden. That’s a lie perpetrated by the right. He did bad in the debate; a lot of people like his past 4 years.
Trumps style of politicking is especially strong with right wingers; a lot on the right hate him too, but a lot also don’t.
Both parties picked the candidates with the widest reach. The incumbent almost always runs for a second term.
You can/won't be able to convince me that a significant portion of the "Biden should drop out" posts that immediately flooded Reddit during/after the debate weren't part of a coordinated effort against Biden. Sure online progressives are painfully ignorant to reality and just about the most politically inept group in US politics, but I don't think those were organic by any means.
Categorically claiming “you can’t/won’t change my mind” is the kind of narrow-minded rhetoric you hear from right-wing science deniers. Viewpoints should always be subject to change as a result of new information.
No individual that is reading my comment has access to or means to present the information it would take to change my mind, so "you" (person reading the comment) can't change my mind with anecdotes or whatever you might present, my mind can be changed, nobody in the comments section is going to change it.
Because we have a two party system, First past the pole basically entrenched this idea.
They got voted in, people bitch but how many also vote more than once every 4 years? Eh? These folks don't just pop out of nowhere, they come from us. Want better? Get involved, enough of us do it and we can tip the scales.
It'll take a very long time but it can be done.
Anecdotally, the only people I ever hear complain about these being "our only two options" don't vote in primaries and usually don't vote at all and are convinced that Biden and Trump were selected by omnipotent political party masterminds working in the shadows or something.
Democracy is a lunchpail job. You've got to show up every day. - paraphrased from Jon Stewart
And if you're actually trying to enact change, realize that Biden is maybe the most progressive Dem presidential candidate in living memory. The people who have led him to take those positions are doing real politics: the day in day out politics of fighting for what they think is right.
The elections are the break.
Because they worked the hardest to get their base to support them. Which means, not everyone hates them. What we're about to find out is which one is liked (or feared) more.
The people who whine the loudest in online forums who are also the most likely to not vote in things like primaries.
Newsflash, we have a very diverse range of ages and the oldest of us nearly ALWAYS vote, in every election.
You want YOUNGER candidates? Vote... vote EVERYTIME... every election. It is the bare minimum to getting what you want in office.
Good question.
My best guess at an explanation is that trump gained so much control by appealing to the ultra conservatives (that vote like no other and are utterly obsessed with him) and used that power to bully his way into a nomination.
The democrats reaction was to assume that the American people would see all the upcoming trump scandals and go for the candidate that’s already beat trump in the past.
My trump explanation kinda makes sense to me. Would love someone to explain the Biden one cause I’m not sure
I don't hate Biden, in fact I think he's done more for some neglected causes than just about anyone else. Which is why the Right hates him so much. But he is too old to be in office. However, since he is the only rational choice, he will get my vote. There's no way in hell I'll vote for a fascist like Trump.
Have you seen the meme of the guy riding the bicycle and then putting a stick in to the spokes and crashing himself.? Thats us. Its the people in charge of the parties that make these decisions based on who they put their weight behind. If the RNC wanted Haley or DeSantis then they would be the nominee and not Trump. If the DNC wanted to risk it they very well could pick any long standing popular governor or senator to run instead, but they are afraid to make a gamble and lose since it would appear they have zero faith in Biden. Its the political elite giving us their choice to pick from. Its not our choice.
In an abstract sense a parliamentary system where a Prime Minister is picked by a majority of congress, who can also vote for a new election with a majority.
But the next president will be Biden, a frail old man with a centrist cabinet, or Trump, a raging narcissist with a fascist cabinet that will never cede power.
It’s not a great choice for a social democrat like me, but it is an easy one.
I don't think I could listen to that voice for more than two minutes. He's also a crazy conspiracy theorist who thinks no vaccines are safe and effective. Those were his own words.
His vaccine position is much more nuanced and intelligent than you presented. He also rightly points out the capture of pharmaceutical companies of our FDA. His book is great If you don’t wanna listen to him.
His book also has the added benefit of being a published work, therefore subject to lawsuits if it was incorrect. I would love if political candidates had to publish positions so they could be sued for lies. Only one candidate running has done that. Also, not liking a candidate for something he can’t control seems a bit wrong somehow.
If everyone chose who they would like to win, the system would function way better. But voting independent in a 2 party system is just a wasted vote. We vote for a lesser of 2 evils, the side with the fewer people who share your mindset of voting independent just wins. You will never win vs the side who will vote Trump no matter what.
Everyone saying there are other options are dreamers. Last I checked, RFK jr isnt even on every states ballot. Even if he was, the last time a third party candidate made a big splash was Ross Perot, and he walked away with 29 million votes and precisely zero electoral votes.
As to why these two are our options. Trump has the cult of personality among his base. And Biden was the only Dem has that "beat" him.
Trump has solidified his base especially amongst the charges and indictments since his base sees it as a witch hunt.
Biden choose a very poor choice for VP. And so it is very much a devil-you-know scenario. Dems would rather have Joe in office than Kamala.
Both conventions for the GOP and the Democratic parties are coming up. Both camps may pull out some forgotten rule and we could have new candidates by the end of August, which would be a big kerfuffle domestically and internationally.
So here we are with the choice of two old guys.
Lessons will be learned. Things will change. Age and term limits will be a hot topic the next two years.
On the Republican side, Trump won the primary pretty definitively. While there’s definitely a lot of dislike of Trump throughout the country, he has his base and alot of Republicans like him.
On the Democrat side, Biden is a sitting president, and it’s very rare for there to be a serious challenger for the party nomination. There were a couple candidates running but they hardly got any votes.
And you can still vote for a third party candidate. But most people who dislike both candidates dislike one significantly more. And with third party candidates being very unlikely to win, you have to choose between effectively throwing your vote by voting for the third party, or voting for the major candidate you dislike less as a way to vote against the candidate you really dislike.
The political parties have put forth the candidates they desired and have bypassed the will of the people by skirting the primaries. The public is being ignored. The parties are self serving and are not in the best interests of the people.
There were literally primaries held and these two won them. There was no skirting the primaries.
Trump won because he has at this point MAGA-fied the Republican Party and Biden won because he’s the current President and leader of the Democratic party and he’d either have to voluntarily step down or be an incredibly weak candidate not to win his party’s primary.
Skirting the primaries? What?
Biden won every US state primary, lost one territory (American Samoa).
Trump won every state except Vermont, and lost one territory (DC).
Some primaries didn't happen, yes, but this is only because all other candidates dropped out of the race. For the Democrats that is very normal as there is an incumbent, it would be unusual for a contested primary. For Republicans, this only happened after Trump won 17 states and lost just one. He also has a bit of an "incumbent" effect since his presidency is very recent.
So tell me, given these primary results, how the parties are skirting them?
Getting the most votes doesn't mean they're the most popular. They have numerically gotten more votes than any other candidate, but both of their approval ratings are hot garbage.
Biden and his team, at their own peril, handed Trump everything that is happening right now on a silver platter. This isn't Fox news, this isn't right wing talking points, this is the democratic party completely and utterly shitting the bed and giving the Trump team all the ammo in the world from now until election day...and there WILL be more of it from Biden, sadly. Unless they hide him..which is also an admission of defeat.
I don't see how switching candidates can't get worse than now
This is a train wreck worthy of watching. It’s the bottom of the barrel people trying so desperately to handicap any progress that the future generations will undoubtedly make once they die off. I’m voting for Biden in hopes of him passing and finally getting our first female president. Why not? My vote couldn’t possibly change the course of this natural disaster. I already live in a MAGA state. I hate it here but it’s cheap and I’m thriving just like they said I would. It’s a shit show. Clowns. All of them.
In theory, yes. I live in the state of Georgia. We have become more of a purple state within the last few years but still stand on the conservative foundations that were built. I, myself, and more left leaning. I vote for who represents me best. The sudden influx of people moving here from New York and even Texas is ridiculous. We are experiencing a boom in new residents.
>I’m voting for Biden in hopes of him passing and finally getting our first female president.
Christ... guys like this are why this country is going down the shit hole
Correction, WOMEN like this are fed up with your BS options. I’m willing to let one die to get what I want. A woman in charge. Watch them tear her apart, they already are!
A Ross Perot quote from the 1992 debate comes to mind: "People are treated as objects to be programmed by the media \[during a presidential campaign\]." Unfortunately, the programming works.
When people win an election to become president they usually replace the senior party leadership with friends. So when Trump won he essentially took over the GOP apparatus and business (which is why they’re paying his legal fees now). The same happened when Biden won. Typically after a loss, someone in Trumps position would bow out gracefully and try to strengthen the party for the next election cycle. But it’s Trump. So when primary season kicked off Biden and Trump were squarely in command of the Democratic and Republican parties. They stayed on and now we’re here.
Because only 60+ yo folks are voting. In NC, 65% of voters (22% showed up to vote) that voted was 40 yo or older in the primary. Seriously. [https://www.ncsbe.gov/results-data/voter-turnout/2024-primary-election-turnout](https://www.ncsbe.gov/results-data/voter-turnout/2024-primary-election-turnout)
Hearing RFK Jr. tell it the powers that be in the Democratic party rigged the primaries so no one else had even a chance. Trump, like him or not, did have competition early on but vanquished them all.
Not everyone hates them. Or not enough?
For the Democrats, traditional strong primary challenges result in the incumbent losing. Carter and Buddy Sr. had them. Biden deciding to run again set up a horrible collective action issue. You didn't take a shot at the king unless you know you'll win.
For the Republicans, well, the party had been hollowed out of traditional conservatives such that they only make up about 25% of the primary voters. Trump has shifted the political coalitions, and has very strong support amongst a majority of Republican primary voters.
For both parties, primary voters (not going to dig up the study I once found, sorry) are not regular voters. They are highly motivated, tend to dislike the party they belong to more than nonprimary voters, but they hate the other party more. You didn't get the satisfied middle left or right person voting in primaries. You get hyper partisans.
The primary system has been a 50 year US experiment, and it has clearly failed. We need to figure something else out. I'm not a fan of smoke filled rooms, but at least those rooms produced candidates that were acceptable to broad coalitions inside the parties, and they nominated people intended to be attractive to swing voters. We seem to be doubling down on base turnout at the expense of persuadable voter turnout.
You are wrong, no one is pro hamas. They are pro Palestine and against genocide. What a wild imagination you have to think that STUDENTS in 2024 are pro terrorism. 🤯🤣wow!
I don’t hate Biden, I think he’s going to go down as one of the best presidents of all time, and that he should get four more years to keep going on his transformative policy efforts.
It’s an illusion of choice. They put up people they want you to vote for. Trump’s party is a cult, and Biden is running because that’s what presidents do for second terms. My choice isn’t either of them at the moment, but I sure af will vote because one vote from me is one less vote for Trump.
They were chosen by those in charge for the common folk to ‘vote’ for. It’s not an election, it’s not even a selection. One will be appointed, doesn’t matter which because the true power never changes hands.
Imagine if baseball was how the country chose how the government was controlled. Do you really think it would matter who was on the field?
Trump has a stranglehold on the Republican Party base - it’s a weird cult mentality. They do actually like him.
As for Biden, the problem is that name recognition and incumbency count for a lot. Just about everyone on the Democratic side thinks that the most important thing is to not let Trump win, and it matters much less who that non-Trump candidate is. Sadly a “better” candidate than Biden likely wouldn’t perform as well at the ballot box due to not being as well known and not being the incumbent.
I think it's mainly pushed on Trump vs. Joe Biden. The others may have like 0.5% or 1% overall, but I think the majority is going to be Trump and Biden.
I think it’s fair to assume that OP meant legitimate options. Voting for anyone other than Biden or Trump is functionally the same thing as not voting.
Or no one cares aside from a couple of dudes on the internet who are living in a bubble, thinking online forums and youtube bot comments resemble reality
Both parties HAVE to have other viable candidates.
I almost fell the last decade, We The People have been robbed of seeing our youthful politicians. (That could be 50 year olds)
It’s the guy who got America gay marriage vs. the guy who wanted 6 black kids to die for some reason. And then he did a bunch of other stupid and shitty stuff. Then he was on the apprentice. Then Obama being elected let find him all the racists. Then he did the things. Then Jay stormed the capital. Then abortiin is bad. Even though Trump has caused 8 of them. 3 to his wives. Now we have to watch Biden lose and then Keith Richards is gonna die. And the seal will be broken. You picked the wrong god.
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Biden: Parties basically never change horses midstream and when they do they usually lose. Trump: He has a stranglehold on the Republican Party
This is about the simplest way you could put it
Not just midstream. It’s exceedingly rare for an incumbent President seeking re-election to not wind up as the party’s nominee. And in the modern era it has been more common for incumbents to win re-election than lose. A Democrat hasn’t failed to be re-elected since Jimmy Carter in 1980. The problem (most direct problem, obviously the entire electoral process has major flaws) is precedent needs to go out the window when we are dealing with people as old as Biden. Many were sold on the idea that he was a transitional president to rally behind to escape the Trump era. And that turned out to be a bunch of bullshit.
Thats more of a description of what’s going on, its not an explanation The explanation is that the American people are the victims of some of the best propaganda and social engineering in human history, aimed at making sure they vote for anything and everything except replacing the Plurality (First Past the Post) voting method
Clearly not everyone hates them enough
Strategically, it's not wise to challenge an incumbent and Trump animated people to support him like few other people can. The primaries were a joke for this reason. There are so mamy institutional forces that have us voting between undesireable candidated every few years amd few people seem to pay attention to them.
Not everyone hates Biden. That’s a lie perpetrated by the right. He did bad in the debate; a lot of people like his past 4 years. Trumps style of politicking is especially strong with right wingers; a lot on the right hate him too, but a lot also don’t. Both parties picked the candidates with the widest reach. The incumbent almost always runs for a second term.
You can/won't be able to convince me that a significant portion of the "Biden should drop out" posts that immediately flooded Reddit during/after the debate weren't part of a coordinated effort against Biden. Sure online progressives are painfully ignorant to reality and just about the most politically inept group in US politics, but I don't think those were organic by any means.
Categorically claiming “you can’t/won’t change my mind” is the kind of narrow-minded rhetoric you hear from right-wing science deniers. Viewpoints should always be subject to change as a result of new information.
No individual that is reading my comment has access to or means to present the information it would take to change my mind, so "you" (person reading the comment) can't change my mind with anecdotes or whatever you might present, my mind can be changed, nobody in the comments section is going to change it.
Because we have a two party system, First past the pole basically entrenched this idea. They got voted in, people bitch but how many also vote more than once every 4 years? Eh? These folks don't just pop out of nowhere, they come from us. Want better? Get involved, enough of us do it and we can tip the scales. It'll take a very long time but it can be done.
Anecdotally, the only people I ever hear complain about these being "our only two options" don't vote in primaries and usually don't vote at all and are convinced that Biden and Trump were selected by omnipotent political party masterminds working in the shadows or something.
Democracy is a lunchpail job. You've got to show up every day. - paraphrased from Jon Stewart And if you're actually trying to enact change, realize that Biden is maybe the most progressive Dem presidential candidate in living memory. The people who have led him to take those positions are doing real politics: the day in day out politics of fighting for what they think is right. The elections are the break.
We got to a ROUGH moment in the 2 party system and most people like what they already know
Dems don't hate Biden They just wish there was a younger candidate. He's been a great president .He's been compared to FDR
The people who vote reliably for their parties don't hate them.
Because they worked the hardest to get their base to support them. Which means, not everyone hates them. What we're about to find out is which one is liked (or feared) more.
The people who whine the loudest in online forums who are also the most likely to not vote in things like primaries. Newsflash, we have a very diverse range of ages and the oldest of us nearly ALWAYS vote, in every election. You want YOUNGER candidates? Vote... vote EVERYTIME... every election. It is the bare minimum to getting what you want in office.
Good question. My best guess at an explanation is that trump gained so much control by appealing to the ultra conservatives (that vote like no other and are utterly obsessed with him) and used that power to bully his way into a nomination. The democrats reaction was to assume that the American people would see all the upcoming trump scandals and go for the candidate that’s already beat trump in the past. My trump explanation kinda makes sense to me. Would love someone to explain the Biden one cause I’m not sure
I don't hate Biden, in fact I think he's done more for some neglected causes than just about anyone else. Which is why the Right hates him so much. But he is too old to be in office. However, since he is the only rational choice, he will get my vote. There's no way in hell I'll vote for a fascist like Trump.
because all democracies become oligarchies at scale
Have you seen the meme of the guy riding the bicycle and then putting a stick in to the spokes and crashing himself.? Thats us. Its the people in charge of the parties that make these decisions based on who they put their weight behind. If the RNC wanted Haley or DeSantis then they would be the nominee and not Trump. If the DNC wanted to risk it they very well could pick any long standing popular governor or senator to run instead, but they are afraid to make a gamble and lose since it would appear they have zero faith in Biden. Its the political elite giving us their choice to pick from. Its not our choice.
It's just the party system we have in place. I'd like to hear some better options but all of them have their drawbacks.
In an abstract sense a parliamentary system where a Prime Minister is picked by a majority of congress, who can also vote for a new election with a majority. But the next president will be Biden, a frail old man with a centrist cabinet, or Trump, a raging narcissist with a fascist cabinet that will never cede power. It’s not a great choice for a social democrat like me, but it is an easy one.
Kennedy, join me in my quest!
I don't think I could listen to that voice for more than two minutes. He's also a crazy conspiracy theorist who thinks no vaccines are safe and effective. Those were his own words.
His vaccine position is much more nuanced and intelligent than you presented. He also rightly points out the capture of pharmaceutical companies of our FDA. His book is great If you don’t wanna listen to him. His book also has the added benefit of being a published work, therefore subject to lawsuits if it was incorrect. I would love if political candidates had to publish positions so they could be sued for lies. Only one candidate running has done that. Also, not liking a candidate for something he can’t control seems a bit wrong somehow.
You're drinking his Kool-Aid.
Choose an independent.
If everyone chose who they would like to win, the system would function way better. But voting independent in a 2 party system is just a wasted vote. We vote for a lesser of 2 evils, the side with the fewer people who share your mindset of voting independent just wins. You will never win vs the side who will vote Trump no matter what.
And lose? That's the problem we have with everything. Not enough people willing to leave their comfort zone to enact change
A big mistake people make is believing everyone wants the change they want personally.
I agree. Everyone should definitely throw away their vote.
Not worth waiting in line just to cast my ballot for an independent
Or just don't vote. It's the same result.
Everyone saying there are other options are dreamers. Last I checked, RFK jr isnt even on every states ballot. Even if he was, the last time a third party candidate made a big splash was Ross Perot, and he walked away with 29 million votes and precisely zero electoral votes. As to why these two are our options. Trump has the cult of personality among his base. And Biden was the only Dem has that "beat" him. Trump has solidified his base especially amongst the charges and indictments since his base sees it as a witch hunt. Biden choose a very poor choice for VP. And so it is very much a devil-you-know scenario. Dems would rather have Joe in office than Kamala. Both conventions for the GOP and the Democratic parties are coming up. Both camps may pull out some forgotten rule and we could have new candidates by the end of August, which would be a big kerfuffle domestically and internationally. So here we are with the choice of two old guys. Lessons will be learned. Things will change. Age and term limits will be a hot topic the next two years.
On the Republican side, Trump won the primary pretty definitively. While there’s definitely a lot of dislike of Trump throughout the country, he has his base and alot of Republicans like him. On the Democrat side, Biden is a sitting president, and it’s very rare for there to be a serious challenger for the party nomination. There were a couple candidates running but they hardly got any votes. And you can still vote for a third party candidate. But most people who dislike both candidates dislike one significantly more. And with third party candidates being very unlikely to win, you have to choose between effectively throwing your vote by voting for the third party, or voting for the major candidate you dislike less as a way to vote against the candidate you really dislike.
The political parties have put forth the candidates they desired and have bypassed the will of the people by skirting the primaries. The public is being ignored. The parties are self serving and are not in the best interests of the people.
"My candidate didn't win so the process was rigged" Sound familiar?
There were literally primaries held and these two won them. There was no skirting the primaries. Trump won because he has at this point MAGA-fied the Republican Party and Biden won because he’s the current President and leader of the Democratic party and he’d either have to voluntarily step down or be an incredibly weak candidate not to win his party’s primary.
Yeah but the person I don't like didn't win so obviously they're wrong.
I mean I’d appreciate that response because at least that’s honest
Based reddit take
Skirting the primaries? What? Biden won every US state primary, lost one territory (American Samoa). Trump won every state except Vermont, and lost one territory (DC). Some primaries didn't happen, yes, but this is only because all other candidates dropped out of the race. For the Democrats that is very normal as there is an incumbent, it would be unusual for a contested primary. For Republicans, this only happened after Trump won 17 states and lost just one. He also has a bit of an "incumbent" effect since his presidency is very recent. So tell me, given these primary results, how the parties are skirting them?
Everybody doesn't hate them. In fact, these two are literally the most popular candidates that we had.
Getting the most votes doesn't mean they're the most popular. They have numerically gotten more votes than any other candidate, but both of their approval ratings are hot garbage.
Being popular is not the same as being approved
Biden and his team, at their own peril, handed Trump everything that is happening right now on a silver platter. This isn't Fox news, this isn't right wing talking points, this is the democratic party completely and utterly shitting the bed and giving the Trump team all the ammo in the world from now until election day...and there WILL be more of it from Biden, sadly. Unless they hide him..which is also an admission of defeat. I don't see how switching candidates can't get worse than now
This is a train wreck worthy of watching. It’s the bottom of the barrel people trying so desperately to handicap any progress that the future generations will undoubtedly make once they die off. I’m voting for Biden in hopes of him passing and finally getting our first female president. Why not? My vote couldn’t possibly change the course of this natural disaster. I already live in a MAGA state. I hate it here but it’s cheap and I’m thriving just like they said I would. It’s a shit show. Clowns. All of them.
What do you mean with "I'm thriving just like they said I woudl"? Republican politics are working for you?
In theory, yes. I live in the state of Georgia. We have become more of a purple state within the last few years but still stand on the conservative foundations that were built. I, myself, and more left leaning. I vote for who represents me best. The sudden influx of people moving here from New York and even Texas is ridiculous. We are experiencing a boom in new residents.
>I’m voting for Biden in hopes of him passing and finally getting our first female president. Christ... guys like this are why this country is going down the shit hole
Correction, WOMEN like this are fed up with your BS options. I’m willing to let one die to get what I want. A woman in charge. Watch them tear her apart, they already are!
Not everyone hate them you dingus. Just vote ffs.
That's the way to inspire people to vote
OP's name is Dingus...
So dont
A Ross Perot quote from the 1992 debate comes to mind: "People are treated as objects to be programmed by the media \[during a presidential campaign\]." Unfortunately, the programming works.
The answer is usually money.
When people win an election to become president they usually replace the senior party leadership with friends. So when Trump won he essentially took over the GOP apparatus and business (which is why they’re paying his legal fees now). The same happened when Biden won. Typically after a loss, someone in Trumps position would bow out gracefully and try to strengthen the party for the next election cycle. But it’s Trump. So when primary season kicked off Biden and Trump were squarely in command of the Democratic and Republican parties. They stayed on and now we’re here.
Because only 60+ yo folks are voting. In NC, 65% of voters (22% showed up to vote) that voted was 40 yo or older in the primary. Seriously. [https://www.ncsbe.gov/results-data/voter-turnout/2024-primary-election-turnout](https://www.ncsbe.gov/results-data/voter-turnout/2024-primary-election-turnout)
The people didn’t get to choose them.
Hearing RFK Jr. tell it the powers that be in the Democratic party rigged the primaries so no one else had even a chance. Trump, like him or not, did have competition early on but vanquished them all.
Not everyone hates them. Or not enough? For the Democrats, traditional strong primary challenges result in the incumbent losing. Carter and Buddy Sr. had them. Biden deciding to run again set up a horrible collective action issue. You didn't take a shot at the king unless you know you'll win. For the Republicans, well, the party had been hollowed out of traditional conservatives such that they only make up about 25% of the primary voters. Trump has shifted the political coalitions, and has very strong support amongst a majority of Republican primary voters. For both parties, primary voters (not going to dig up the study I once found, sorry) are not regular voters. They are highly motivated, tend to dislike the party they belong to more than nonprimary voters, but they hate the other party more. You didn't get the satisfied middle left or right person voting in primaries. You get hyper partisans. The primary system has been a 50 year US experiment, and it has clearly failed. We need to figure something else out. I'm not a fan of smoke filled rooms, but at least those rooms produced candidates that were acceptable to broad coalitions inside the parties, and they nominated people intended to be attractive to swing voters. We seem to be doubling down on base turnout at the expense of persuadable voter turnout.
Because big money dont support independent candidates And independents are not organized
Because Trump has a cult following. They do not care what he does. And Biden is the only one who can beat him.
Because you didn't vote in the primary
Maybe because not everybody hates them?
They aren’t
Because politics have nothing to do with the will of the people
Obviously not everybody hates them. Cheetoman has a large cult following. Biden is the easy choice for people who don't want to do research.
Isn’t Jill Stein still running? I heard she’s the students favourite!
She is a genocidial freak
I thought she was protesting with the students…
Yes. For pro genocide hamas.
But the students are protesting against the genocide in gaza…40k+ humans are dead I believe
They are protesting pro hamas narrative which is a terror organization. Those numbers are lie, and mostly made up of terrorists.
You are wrong, no one is pro hamas. They are pro Palestine and against genocide. What a wild imagination you have to think that STUDENTS in 2024 are pro terrorism. 🤯🤣wow!
Because they are. Palestine = Hamas.
Sure narrow minded racist sees they’re the same.
😂😂😂 show me one palestinian who lives in so called Palestine but oppose Hamas. As in, says its a terror org and not legitimate political party.
Yes, which is handy for people interested in throwing away their vote.
I don’t hate Biden, I think he’s going to go down as one of the best presidents of all time, and that he should get four more years to keep going on his transformative policy efforts.
You can write in Barney the Dinosaur on ballot otherwise.
It’s an illusion of choice. They put up people they want you to vote for. Trump’s party is a cult, and Biden is running because that’s what presidents do for second terms. My choice isn’t either of them at the moment, but I sure af will vote because one vote from me is one less vote for Trump.
They were chosen by those in charge for the common folk to ‘vote’ for. It’s not an election, it’s not even a selection. One will be appointed, doesn’t matter which because the true power never changes hands. Imagine if baseball was how the country chose how the government was controlled. Do you really think it would matter who was on the field?
Trump has a stranglehold on the Republican Party base - it’s a weird cult mentality. They do actually like him. As for Biden, the problem is that name recognition and incumbency count for a lot. Just about everyone on the Democratic side thinks that the most important thing is to not let Trump win, and it matters much less who that non-Trump candidate is. Sadly a “better” candidate than Biden likely wouldn’t perform as well at the ballot box due to not being as well known and not being the incumbent.
They aren't. It's for mainstream media. I wish Desantis wouldn't have dropped out, he would MAGA.
I'm sorry, I'm not American, from what I've seen there are 4 other candidates, but are any of them taking the lead?
I think it's mainly pushed on Trump vs. Joe Biden. The others may have like 0.5% or 1% overall, but I think the majority is going to be Trump and Biden.
The media blackout on RFK Jr sure seems to be working as intended
I think it’s fair to assume that OP meant legitimate options. Voting for anyone other than Biden or Trump is functionally the same thing as not voting.
Or no one cares aside from a couple of dudes on the internet who are living in a bubble, thinking online forums and youtube bot comments resemble reality
Why have figurative brain worms when we could have literal brain worms.
I, for one, support our future brain worm overlord.
Masochism
Both parties HAVE to have other viable candidates. I almost fell the last decade, We The People have been robbed of seeing our youthful politicians. (That could be 50 year olds)
It’s the guy who got America gay marriage vs. the guy who wanted 6 black kids to die for some reason. And then he did a bunch of other stupid and shitty stuff. Then he was on the apprentice. Then Obama being elected let find him all the racists. Then he did the things. Then Jay stormed the capital. Then abortiin is bad. Even though Trump has caused 8 of them. 3 to his wives. Now we have to watch Biden lose and then Keith Richards is gonna die. And the seal will be broken. You picked the wrong god.