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Polybius

(18,028 posts)
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 02:02 PM Nov 9

Pelosi blames Biden for election loss as finger pointing intensifies

Source: BBC News

Former US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said Democrats might have fared better in Tuesday's election if President Joe Biden had exited the race sooner.

Pelosi - one of the most powerful politicians in Washington - told the New York Times that "had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race".

Her remarks are the latest finger pointing from Democrats after the party lost hold of the White House and potentially both chambers of Congress on Tuesday.

Pelosi is widely reported to have led the Democrats’ push to oust Biden, who ended up leaving the race at the end of July after weeks of pressure following a poor debate performance against Donald Trump.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn7m24zg85eo



Love ya Nancy, but this isn't helpful.
65 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Pelosi blames Biden for election loss as finger pointing intensifies (Original Post) Polybius Nov 9 OP
I'm just not going to do it. RandySF Nov 9 #1
Thank you. elleng Nov 9 #36
I completely blame the media...all versions of it. nt LittleGirl Nov 10 #55
Agree. Baitball Blogger Nov 10 #44
This is the truth of it DemonGoddess Nov 10 #49
This message was self-deleted by its author Island Blue Nov 9 #2
This message was self-deleted by its author Chin music Nov 9 #35
I passed by this story, decided not to post it Dennis Donovan Nov 9 #3
It appears these are republican opinions. I cant believe this came from former speaker pelosi Trueblue1968 Nov 9 #29
I think she's wrong, but I try to remember that it doesn't really matter now William Seger Nov 9 #38
He withdrew THREE WEEKS after the debate HereForTheParty Nov 10 #54
Poor choices Blue for the win Nov 9 #4
followed by a failure to replace that ....... bad choice. FoxNewsSucks Nov 9 #22
Excuse me Nancy? A friggin' cardboard cutout should have been able to beat a corrupt fool like Trump crimycarny Nov 9 #5
I think it was Biden's choice not to run in 2016. LisaM Nov 9 #11
He was still weighing a run after Beau's death, and Obama didn't want him to run crimycarny Nov 9 #12
Here is a really good article that gives a more nuanced look at Biden and Obama's interactions crimycarny Nov 9 #14
Message auto-removed Name removed Nov 9 #27
Exactly! GoreWon2000 Nov 9 #13
The country still didn't ..doesn't want a FE president. So sickening but true PortTack Nov 9 #26
Nancy said that if Biden had got out sooner there would have been more candidates in the race. totodeinhere Nov 9 #32
So? crimycarny Nov 9 #37
We will Rebl2 Nov 11 #63
Nope. Motherfucker would have beat most any Dem this time. maxsolomon Nov 11 #60
Her and George Clooney Sequoia Nov 11 #61
Yep crimycarny Nov 11 #62
We ended up with a catastrophic result BeyondGeography Nov 9 #6
shoulda coulda woulda voteragain Nov 9 #7
Did any other areas get bombarded by non stop attack dog mentality "ads" the last two weeks? GreenWave Nov 9 #8
I kept getting a large number of Trump texts per day. totodeinhere Nov 9 #33
This is not helpful. delisen Nov 9 #9
We need to stop blaming the Times. ificandream Nov 9 #16
They were the ones that have been doing major bothsiderism choie Nov 9 #42
And all of us who are scared and uncertain right now thank you for this show of leadership Alice B. Nov 9 #10
Could Kamala have used an extra month or twelve? Mawspam2 Nov 9 #15
1000+ PortTack Nov 9 #25
Why Do Latino Men Have Issues with Black Women? MrWowWow Nov 9 #30
Am I mistaken? Back in 2020, didn't Biden himself say that he'd only run for one term? Intractable Nov 9 #17
Post removed Post removed Nov 9 #23
I've really come to realize that primaries matter. Bleacher Creature Nov 9 #31
Do not Rebl2 Nov 10 #56
I noticed everyone from Oswald to santa is being blamed yaesu Nov 9 #18
Seems like only yesterday that we were considered united. Sneederbunk Nov 9 #19
Message auto-removed Name removed Nov 9 #20
Message auto-removed Name removed Nov 9 #21
Stop! The election is over. Pointing fingers doesn't help. President Biden has been thru enough at the hands PortTack Nov 9 #24
It is not Biden's job to step down it's someone else's to STEP UP Galraedia Nov 9 #28
Shame on her -- disagree 100% Blue Owl Nov 9 #34
Exactly crimycarny Nov 9 #39
Blaming any Democrat for any reason is an enormous waste of time and accomplishes nothing dlk Nov 9 #40
Agree with you Polybius. choie Nov 9 #41
Again, if you want to point fingers, Nan, point them at yourself. JHB Nov 10 #43
Americans might have fared better if Pelosi had impeached SHRUB Jack Valentino Nov 10 #45
Yay here comes the post election infighting! Initech Nov 10 #46
FFS, Nancy! BlueMTexpat Nov 10 #47
This whole Biden shouldn't have run thing is revisionist nonsense Seasider Nov 10 #48
They dumbasses of this country elected, or help elect by defacto Afrocat Nov 10 #50
Here we go again... GiqueCee Nov 10 #51
The problem.... Macrophylla Nov 10 #52
She is probably right Biden's approval rating was always under water, it was said long before doc03 Nov 10 #53
she's absolutely right...it's common sense but she looks democratsruletheday Nov 12 #65
I'm disappointed that at this point Pelosi would engage in fruitless finger-pointing. we should be uniting right now, Martin68 Nov 10 #57
Nancy Pelosi should be ashamed of herself. camartinwv Nov 10 #58
NOT HELPING, water under dam! Better use of time - figure out how to counteract DISINFORMATION Kashkakat v.2.0 Nov 10 #59
Really? Nancy needs to be quiet. LiberalFighter Nov 12 #64

RandySF

(70,832 posts)
1. I'm just not going to do it.
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 02:05 PM
Nov 9

I can’t blame anyone but the voters who just put a gun to the contrary’s head.

elleng

(136,417 posts)
36. Thank you.
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 10:25 PM
Nov 9

I will, however, blame media; I listened to some of the NYT interview today (while in the car.) Interviewer, while civil, seemed to be looking hard for 'a story,' and Nancy was 'stuck' in the middle, wrestling with the myriad forces at play.

DemonGoddess

(5,125 posts)
49. This is the truth of it
Sun Nov 10, 2024, 03:46 AM
Nov 10

It was the voters who believed the bullshit and voted for the orange shitstain. I am NOT blaming President Biden or VP Harris for this.

Response to Polybius (Original post)

Response to Island Blue (Reply #2)

Dennis Donovan

(26,418 posts)
3. I passed by this story, decided not to post it
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 02:07 PM
Nov 9

...because it's a bit heartbreaking at a time my heart is busted to pieces.

There's going to be a LOT of time for post-mortems. Can we hold off of them for a few more days?

I'm not saying you shouldn't post the story. I just didn't have the heart to.

HereForTheParty

(180 posts)
54. He withdrew THREE WEEKS after the debate
Sun Nov 10, 2024, 09:16 AM
Nov 10

It just wasn't that long a time. If it was so essential he withdraw quickly why was Nancy so mealy mouthed when he was being pushed out?

crimycarny

(1,633 posts)
5. Excuse me Nancy? A friggin' cardboard cutout should have been able to beat a corrupt fool like Trump
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 02:26 PM
Nov 9

Look in the mirror lady. Biden is NOT the person at fault. You couldn't shut up about wanting him out when the party should have been banding together. Biden had a bad debate and the Democratic party fell apart. Trump could have walked on stage with no pants on and the GOP party would have banded behind him. No matter what Trump did, the GOP machine stayed behind him.

JHC, how much more does Biden have to do? He bowed out gracefully in 2016 when Obama pushed Hillary to be the candidate, he came back into the race in 2020 when he felt in his soul that it was his duty to help save America. He stayed in the race even when he lost the first initial primaries and went on to WIN. (Thank god!). He accomplished more in his Presidency than any other President.

Then, when he has a bad debate, the Democratic machine does their old and tired circular firing squad routine (remember Al Franken?). Biden puts country first AGAIN, his hand forced by Pelosi, et. al. and now that same circular firing squad wants to point their guns at Joe? Oh hell no. This is the part of the Democratic party that I just can't stand. The lack of spine. Joe Biden is a glowing exception to that.

crimycarny

(1,633 posts)
12. He was still weighing a run after Beau's death, and Obama didn't want him to run
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 03:51 PM
Nov 9

I had thought the same, that it was Biden’s choice not to run due to Beau’s death. However, I’ve since read (from multiple sources, including Joe Biden’s own book), that Obama felt it was Hillary’s turn to run. Biden was still weighing on whether to run or not after Beau’s death, and it was made obvious to him that Obama felt Hillary would have a better chance. The head winds of lukewarm support combined with grief ultimately made the prospect of Joe Biden running too much to overcome.

I’ll see if I can find the article I read about this, it was fairly recent. Biden was hurt by Obama’s lack of support, which is one reason he was so quick to give his full endorsement to Kamala after he made the decision to step down.

crimycarny

(1,633 posts)
14. Here is a really good article that gives a more nuanced look at Biden and Obama's interactions
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 04:10 PM
Nov 9

I found this article very interesting. Obama had a deep respect for a Biden but was often annoyed at what he saw as Biden’s tendency to get off topic and tell stories during meetings. Obama and Hillary’s styles were much more alike. What Obama didn’t realize was Biden’s old fashioned way of politics, such as telling those stories and not sticking strictly to the agenda is what helped Biden become one of the absolute best at bipartisan politics.

Really good article. Doesn’t bash Obama, Hillary, or Biden. Just gives interesting insight. A very interesting section in the article mentions how Republicans often went to Biden versus Obama because they felt Obama “mansplained” whereas Biden came from the standpoint of “tell me what you need in order to be able to sell this to your constituents”. Sort of a contrast between someone extremely intelligent (Obama) and Biden just as intelligent but more from a street smart sense.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/14/obama-biden-relationship-393570

Response to LisaM (Reply #11)

GoreWon2000

(1,028 posts)
13. Exactly!
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 04:06 PM
Nov 9

Instead of standing with Biden, a cabal of dem elites (mostly white men) decided to carry out the dem version of the anti-democracy Rehnquist 5's 2000 disenfranchisement of our entire country by disenfranchising 14 million 2024 dem party primary voters. After this blatant disenfranchisement the dem party is supposed to be the party defending democracy? Too many voters watched in horror in 2000 as their votes were taken away and have now given up on democracy. An additional portion of the dem base saw the hypocrisy of the Biden ouster and decided not to vote this year. Here we now are.

totodeinhere

(13,333 posts)
32. Nancy said that if Biden had got out sooner there would have been more candidates in the race.
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 09:11 PM
Nov 9

That is true isn't it? If Kamala had had to fight for the nomination against other prominent Democrats, I think she would have won that contest and that process would have made her a stronger general election candidate. And I think she would have beaten Trump.

crimycarny

(1,633 posts)
37. So?
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 10:26 PM
Nov 9

Does Nancy have a crystal ball? Look at who WON. A 34-x convicted felon, convicted rapist, first President to not concede AND to incite an insurrection that we all saw on TV for chrissake. A candidate who repeated conspiracy theories about Haitian residents “eating the cats and the dogs” during a debate, a debate he failed so miserably at that he refused to debate again. A candidate who swayed to Avi—friggin—Maria followed by the YMCA for over 30 minutes in what was supposed to be a town hall. Who held a hate filled event at Madison Square Gardens.

The Democratic candidate wasn’t the problem.

Regardless of what Nancy “thinks”, perhaps she could keep those thoughts to herself right now, as I see zero benefit to the Democratic Party, voters, or anyone for that matter.

crimycarny

(1,633 posts)
62. Yep
Mon Nov 11, 2024, 06:25 PM
Nov 11

And Adam Schiff, Stephen Colbert (who I still won't watch), Sherrod Brown--so many cowards only interested in their re-elections. (How'd that work out for you Sherrod?)

Who had President Biden's back? The Black Caucus, those with a hell of a lot more to lose. They showed far more courage.

voteragain

(34 posts)
7. shoulda coulda woulda
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 02:50 PM
Nov 9

how is helping the vote I made?

don't need Putin propaganda with help like this..........

at my age this could be my last pres vote I made.

where's the FDR's any more?

totodeinhere

(13,333 posts)
33. I kept getting a large number of Trump texts per day.
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 09:23 PM
Nov 9

I always blocked the number but that did no good because they would use a different number every time. As far as from the Democrats goes, I got a couple of texts from President Obama and a couple from Jackie Rosen but that's it.

delisen

(6,517 posts)
9. This is not helpful.
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 03:03 PM
Nov 9

The NYT is blameworthy. It abdicated its role as the Free Press a long time ago.

I recommend The Guardian

ificandream

(10,573 posts)
16. We need to stop blaming the Times.
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 04:54 PM
Nov 9

They weren't the ones spreading the endless (and increasingly louder) propaganda. Thank Fox and their friends in the RW media for that. And more distrust in our media is what Trump lives for. Blaming the Times is doing his job. It needs to stop.

choie

(4,583 posts)
42. They were the ones that have been doing major bothsiderism
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 11:05 PM
Nov 9

since 2016. Don't tell me the NY Times wasn't part of the problem.

Alice B.

(230 posts)
10. And all of us who are scared and uncertain right now thank you for this show of leadership
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 03:21 PM
Nov 9

So glad we have adults in the room.

Mawspam2

(854 posts)
15. Could Kamala have used an extra month or twelve?
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 04:52 PM
Nov 9

Maybe, but when you look at the big picture, Latino men were never going to vote for a black woman. In most areas of the country, that was your difference as well as too many Dems/ Inds staying home or leaving the top line blank.

MrWowWow

(427 posts)
30. Why Do Latino Men Have Issues with Black Women?
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 09:10 PM
Nov 9

Is this just a red herring being wielded while the reality of the 4th Reich moving back into the White House settles into the nation's hive mind? What is the simple explanation? Am not an anthropologist nor a sociologist. Anybody have a simple answer to this question?

Intractable

(546 posts)
17. Am I mistaken? Back in 2020, didn't Biden himself say that he'd only run for one term?
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 07:45 PM
Nov 9

Even before the debate, he seemed substantially aged compared to 2020.

Whereas I will call him the best president in my lifetime (born in the LBJ era), upon seeing his diminishment, I didn't want him to run again.

Response to Intractable (Reply #17)

Bleacher Creature

(11,446 posts)
31. I've really come to realize that primaries matter.
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 09:10 PM
Nov 9

If Harris had the opportunity to build a platform and refine it during a primary she would have been able to hit the ground running in the general. What she was able to pull off was remarkable, but at the end of the day a 100 day campaign wasn't realistic. I love and respect Biden, but that's 100% on him.

yaesu

(8,268 posts)
18. I noticed everyone from Oswald to santa is being blamed
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 08:08 PM
Nov 9

Last edited Sat Nov 9, 2024, 08:54 PM - Edit history (1)

while the fascists are patting themselves on the back in congratulation for a fraud well played.

Response to Polybius (Original post)

Response to Name removed (Reply #20)

PortTack

(34,715 posts)
24. Stop! The election is over. Pointing fingers doesn't help. President Biden has been thru enough at the hands
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 08:56 PM
Nov 9

Of Schiff and others. Quit it!

Blue Owl

(54,826 posts)
34. Shame on her -- disagree 100%
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 09:43 PM
Nov 9

Sure, things could have been managed differently — but Biden’s 4 years have been a success by any measure.

crimycarny

(1,633 posts)
39. Exactly
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 10:37 PM
Nov 9

And Nancy running to the Press to complain about Biden versus a full court press on all of Joe Biden’s accomplishments makes her complicit. It’s that back stabbing crap that fuels voter apathy. If your own party won’t back you then why would anyone else. How does that help the future Democratic Party??

The election is over so Monday morning quarterbacking by a leader of the Democratic Party is not helpful at all. She should be REMINDING voters about all of Biden’s, and the Democratic Party by proxy, accomplishments so that voters don’t forget when things start going to hell under Trump.

Attacking your own team is why the Dems fail at messaging time and time again.

dlk

(12,422 posts)
40. Blaming any Democrat for any reason is an enormous waste of time and accomplishes nothing
Sat Nov 9, 2024, 10:58 PM
Nov 9

Last edited Sun Nov 10, 2024, 10:25 AM - Edit history (1)

Republicans cheated. This is where everyone’s attention needs to be focused

JHB

(37,436 posts)
43. Again, if you want to point fingers, Nan, point them at yourself.
Sun Nov 10, 2024, 12:00 AM
Nov 10

By far the largest factor in the election results is how normalized RW spin is. That's because Republicans have spent the last several decades establishing their own independent media apparatus that can take reality, reprocess it, and spew it in any number of ways to reflect negatively on Democrats.

You, Nancy Pelosi, as a person very influential in where Democratic donors put their money, did absolutely nothing about this. Whatever your calculations were, it blinded you to realities that were to the detriment of the Democratic Party.

There is nothing you can blame Joe for that cannot be laid more squarely at your own feet.

Jack Valentino

(1,394 posts)
45. Americans might have fared better if Pelosi had impeached SHRUB
Sun Nov 10, 2024, 12:43 AM
Nov 10

but she said it was "off the table"


she lost me at "off the table"

Seasider

(182 posts)
48. This whole Biden shouldn't have run thing is revisionist nonsense
Sun Nov 10, 2024, 03:05 AM
Nov 10

If these guys felt so strongly about Biden not running they should’ve confronted him about it back when he first said he was running for reelection. But they didn’t and why would they? Biden was an incumbent President with an economy going in a positive direction and this was also before the Gaza thing.

While I do agree that ideally there should’ve been a full primary for finding a Democratic nominee if Biden wasn’t it, but there’s no guarantee that would’ve flipped the election in our favor especially with no incumbent advantage. Biden had every right to run again. He quit the race when he did because his party forced him out! They can’t pin this on him and wash their hands of the role they played in all of this.

Afrocat

(2,792 posts)
50. They dumbasses of this country elected, or help elect by defacto
Sun Nov 10, 2024, 07:45 AM
Nov 10

a dude that is clearly falling apart on top of being horrible. If the AMERICAN PEOPLE are that fucking stupid then what can I tell you. There is no amount of how Biden came off, or when he left the race, that was at play in any of these peoples decisions and that's the problem. They decided they were going to vote for the absolute worst candidate ever, or not vote, long before this election season began. Biden being old and half dead was instantly exchange for I don't know enough about her policies. Meanwhile Trump is old and more than half dead with no policies and he told them as much. This is on the head of the American populace and they are going to 100% pay for this shit.

The funny part is when is the surprise face when the leopards come for dinner and we can all stare and them and just say Fuck You. As for Pelosi, she needs to get the fuck on with this. no statements, no whining, no crying in or around the media. This goes for any of the politicians on our side. Do not go out there trying to position yourself for the media. We don't have time for any of that. Sit the fuck down and get to work on how we resist falling all the way into chaos. Start figuring out how to make these dumb motherfuckers in the American populace understand the pot boiling and the water is still high enough that we could reach the edge with a good jump.


My apologies for language. I curse, but try to keep the language situation appropriate. However, whenever I have process what is happening now. This is how I feel when I think about this mess and the people associated with it. I'm tired, I'm sad, I'm discouraged, I'm enraged.

GiqueCee

(1,374 posts)
51. Here we go again...
Sun Nov 10, 2024, 08:06 AM
Nov 10

... eating our own, because certain parties on the Mountain Top (the oligarchs haven't limited their malign influence only to Republicans) don't want anyone pointing fingers at the obvious source of all this discord, and that obliudki – I can't type in Cyrillic – has mentally gone over the high side and into the rhubarb. He's conscripting 80-year-old babushkas to fight in Ukraine now! The red flags here glow in the dark, for crissake! Anyone with the observational capabilities of a potted plant knows that Russia has for decades amassed mountains of kompromat on everyone of political significance, and especially here in The Land of Dumb and Dumber. The onslaught was laser-focused on critical Electoral College states, and that strategy was the dike that stopped the Blue Wave dead. Combine that with the constant cascade of mis- and disinformation flooding every news source (thanks, M$M, you treacherous fucks, for not countering ANY of it with the truth!), and all of social media from Putin's troll farms, and you have a perfect storm of lies. Kamala never had a chance. And for the record, even if there had been a primary at such a late date, Kamala was, hands down and going way, the best candidate, and she damned well proved it.
And to the "undecided" dipshits, the economy is the best it's been in 50 years, and NO president has the wherewithal to directly influence inflation. That is the exclusive domain of the despicable corporatists, and their oligarch overlords, that deliberately jack up prices to enrich themselves at the expense of consumers. So slither back into your mothers' basements, do your homework, and STFU.

I've always admired you, Nancy, but this is beneath you. Or, at least, I thought it was.

Macrophylla

(129 posts)
52. The problem....
Sun Nov 10, 2024, 08:35 AM
Nov 10

Trying to appeal to the undecided idiots when they should focus on getting the people who actuall say they support them to actually get out and vote for them.

doc03

(36,779 posts)
53. She is probably right Biden's approval rating was always under water, it was said long before
Sun Nov 10, 2024, 09:01 AM
Nov 10

the election season even started that no president had ever been re-elected with those numbers. Biden
was always a moderate but as president he let the most liberal faction of the party have too much influence.
One thing was the appointments he made, it was like he had a check list to please every group rather than
pick the most qualified person. The government pushing EVs before we have any infrastructure for them was
highly unpopular. To work your butt off to pay off your student loan then have the government come in and
forgive loans others made wasn't so popular. The complaints I heard most was about the inflation from
Democrats and Republicans and why was illegal immigration ignored until a few months before the election?
I am not agreeing totally with all that but those are the things I heard both Rs and Ds talk about.

democratsruletheday

(1,229 posts)
65. she's absolutely right...it's common sense but she looks
Tue Nov 12, 2024, 09:55 AM
Nov 12

petty and small in pointing it out. Poor Form for sure.

Martin68

(24,628 posts)
57. I'm disappointed that at this point Pelosi would engage in fruitless finger-pointing. we should be uniting right now,
Sun Nov 10, 2024, 12:05 PM
Nov 10

not playing the blame game. Whether she's right or not, there's no advantage to blaming Biden now.

Kashkakat v.2.0

(1,890 posts)
59. NOT HELPING, water under dam! Better use of time - figure out how to counteract DISINFORMATION
Sun Nov 10, 2024, 02:16 PM
Nov 10

Last edited Sun Nov 10, 2024, 08:31 PM - Edit history (3)

and the rest of the authoritarian's playbook, which has been used for many decades in many many many different places to take control and maintain it. I think there was a pbs series of the same name. This really is a bigger thing than just what Joe Biden did, or didn't do.

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