Hardkill

Btw, FYI, RFK jr. is just as anti-Palestinian as Trump is, which obviously means that he has a much worse stance on this issue than Biden does. Plus, he's not offering any new kind policies or any steps towards reaching a bold new vision. His vision or ethos isn't even really new: (Start at 22:28)

Biden is actually turning about to be not nearly as much of a neolib establishment corporatist centrist as he used to be. In fact, he is becoming the most economic populist president since LBJ in the 1960s. He also has arguably become the most pro-union president since FDR. He is making a serious departure from the dominance of neoliberalism even more so than Obama did. His economic policies have drawn on the New Keynesian style economics, which is an upgrade from the older Keynesian style economics that dominated during the extended New Deal era.

At long last, Trump's very first criminal trial began today! This trial is the state-level Manhattan case involving Trump and Stormy Daniels, who allegedly covered up the 2016 election interference that Trump was involved. The jury selection for the trial already started hours ago This shouldn't have been called the "hush money" trial because this is not just about paying off a pornstar to keep quiet about Trump's sexual affair with her. The fact that this is mainly about Trump having been accused of having caused an election interference and then covered that up back in 2016 for his then presidential campaign is very serious.

That's a misleading statement being made from the pollsters and pundits. Sure, it would further strengthen his support from vast majority of the Republican/conservative base, but former NIkki Hayley voters who makeup a significant amount of Republicans have said they will vote against Trump if he is convicted. Also, a significant portion of moderate an Independent will probably be even more turned off by Trump, while Democrats and liberals might be even more energized by realizing how much higher the stakes are for this election if or when they realize how much more dangerous and insane Trump is.

I mean don't get me wrong. Most Republican and conservative voters will still for Trump even if he found guilty, but it looks like there are a significant amount of them who are inclined to turn on him if he is found guilty of a crime and given how close this election will be, that could really help to swing the election to Biden.

That's kinda true, but it will very likely hurt him politically. A sizable number of Republican and swing voters in the country have said that they will turn on him if he is found guilty of a crime.

Here are the qualifications for being able to participate in debates and receive maximum media coverage for presidential primaries: https://ballotpedia.org/Republican_presidential_primary_debates,_2024 It's the same for the Democratic primaries These are the qualifications for being able to participate in presidential general election debates and receive maximum media coverage: Candidates must meet the constitutional requirements to be president. Candidates must be on the ballot in enough states to be able to win the 270 electoral votes necessary to be elected president. Candidates must be supported by 15 percent of the electorate, as determined by the average of five national public opinion polls conducted by organizations selected by the CPD.

I really don't see why Bernie didn't lose fair and square in 2016 as well despite such accusations of Hillary Clinton and the establishment Dems having "rigged" it back then.

Dictators usually mask the great amount of insecurity they have about themselves and how long they can hold on to power and influence. Besides, Trump would be the most incompetent dictator ever if actually got to rule as a true authoritarian. He'd be like a fat old version of Joffrey. Trump has the blond hair, blue eyes, and wealth of a Lannister. He also is insane, stupid, cowardly, and was raised incredibly spoiled like Joffrey. He has never had the great temperance, impressive intellect, bravery, and solid work ethic of either Tyrion or Tywin Lannister.

Actually, I think that a lot of the mainstream, a lot of the progressive media, and of course the entire right-wing media have all been unfair with the way they've been criticizing Biden for over 3 years. He's been criticized either for being too far to the left or not being left-wing or a lot of times gets falsely portrayed as being just as bad as Trump. That's a big reason why Biden has been down in the polls and in approval ratings. This fractured media environment we've been living in will be the death of us all.

Exactly!

I see. Okay, I think I understand now. Thanks.

I thought a lot about that too, just like many Americans have of course. However, Harry Truman in 1948 was predicted by every pollster to lose the presidential election to then Republican nominee, Thomas Dewey, because of his lack of charisma or appeal and age. Yet to the surprise everyone, he won and brought coattails for his party by having his party win back control of both chambers of Congress. Biden is actually lot like Truman in personality type and competence. Actual Results of the 1948 presidential election: Nominee Harry S. Truman Thomas E. Dewey Strom Thurmond Party Democratic Republican Dixiecrat Running mate Alben W. Barkley Earl Warren Fielding L. Wright Electoral vote 303 189 39 States carried 28 16 4 Popular vote 24,178,347 21,991,292 1,176,023 Percentage 49.6% 45.1% 2.4% Why Truman won according to Professor Lichtman's 13 keys system Key 1: Party Mandate - After the midterm elections, the incumbent party holds more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives than after the previous midterm elections. False Key 2: No Primary Contest - This key is true if the incumbent party nominee wins at least two-thirds of the total delegate vote on the first ballot at the nominating convention. True Key 3: Incumbent Seeking Re-election - The incumbent party candidate is the sitting president. True Key 4: No Third Party - A third party is a political party other than the Democratic or Republican Party. This key is false if a third party candidate is likely to win 5% or more of the popular vote. False Key 5: Strong Short-Term Economy - The economy is not in recession during the election campaign. True Key 6: Strong Long-Term Economy - Real per capita economic growth during the term equals or exceeds mean growth during the previous two terms. False Key 7: Major Policy Change - The incumbent administration effects major changes in national policy. This key is true if the incumbent president redirects the course of government or enacts a major policy change that has broad effects on the country's commerce, welfare, or outlook. It does not matter whether the change is popular with the public, nor does it matter what ideological mold it was cast from. True Key 8: No Social Unrest - There is no sustained social unrest during the term. This key is false if there is widespread violent unrest that is either sustained or leaves critical issues unresolved by the time of the election campaign, which makes the voters worry that the fabric of the nation is coming apart. True Key 9: No Scandal - The incumbent administration is untainted by major scandal. True Key 10: No Foreign/Military Failure - The incumbent administration suffers no major failure in foreign or military affairs. False Key 11: Major Foreign/Military Success - The incumbent administration achieves a major success in foreign or military affairs. True Key 12: Charismatic Incumbent - The incumbent party candidate is charismatic or a national hero. False Key 13: Uncharismatic Challenger - The challenging party candidate is not charismatic or a national hero. True When the party in power loses 6 or more keys, then the incumbent party loses the White House to the opposite party. Truman and the Democrats lost 5 keys. Therefore, he and his party got to keep the presidency. According to wikipedia: Journalist Samuel Lubell found in his post-1948 survey of voters that Truman, not Dewey, seemed the safer, more conservative candidate to the "new middle class" that had developed over the previous 20 years. He wrote that "to an appreciable part of the electorate, the Democrats had replaced the Republicans as the party of prosperity" during and after the war. Lubell quoted a man who, when asked why he did not vote Republican after moving to the suburbs, answered "I own a nice home, have a new car and am much better off than my parents were. I've been a Democrat all my life. Why should I change?" Dewey's promise of a "great house cleaning" in Washington worried an Iowa minister who wanted to retain farm subsidies for parishioners; worried about the consequences of another depression, he voted Democratic for the first time in his church's history. Truman received a record number of Catholic votes, exceeding even the Catholic support of Al Smith in 1928, in part because Wallace drew leftists away from the Democrats.[82] Another reason for Dewey's surprise defeat was his complacent, distant approach to the campaign, and his failure to respond to Truman's attacks. Journalist Jules Abels wrote that "the election was not thrown away by indifference or lack of effort. Preparation and more preparation had always been the distinguishing characteristic of Dewey and his team throughout his career...The truth is that Dewey's campaign was the result not of careless, but too careful and painstaking, calculation. The Dewey campaign was frozen into inertia not because it had been underthought, but because it had been overthought."[83] Other possible factors for Truman's victory included his aggressive, populist campaign style; broad public approval of Truman's foreign policy, notably the Berlin Airlift of that year; and widespread dissatisfaction with the institution Truman labeled as the "do-nothing, good-for-nothing 80th Republican Congress." In addition, after suffering a relatively severe recession in 1946 and 1947 (in which real GDP dropped by 12% and inflation went over 15%), the economy began recovering throughout 1948. The year 1948 was a banner year for the Democrats, as they not only retained the presidency but also recaptured both houses of Congress. It was also an unprecedented fifth consecutive presidential victory for the party, thus continuing what remains the only winning streak of more than two presidential elections by the Democratic Party since the Civil War. Since 1948, there has been only one streak of three consecutive presidential victories by any party (in that case, by the Republicans). Biden and the Democrats are only down 2 keys, including keys 1 and 12. So much would have to go wrong for him to lose to Trump. Plus, we'll what happens with the Trump trials, including one starting next week, and see how that will affect Trump and his party's chances of winning in 2024. As for the polls, Biden has been surging lately in the polls. Plus: Moreover, Biden has been campaigning a lot more than Trump has been over the past month and a half. Also, like Truman, Biden is campaigning aggressively as an economic populist and calling out the Republican lead US House as the "do-nothing, good-for-nothing" Republican controlled House, which is absolutely true! As a matter of fact, because of Mike Johnson and the MAGA Republican representatives, the 118th Congress (the current Congress), has become literally the most dysfunctional and most unproductive Congress ever in US History!

So, it's both because they've been constantly threatened by all of the surrounding Arab countries and because they want to keep taking over more territory for themselves as much as they can.

Oh God! It will be the end of our democracy and freedoms if Trump and MAGA win the 2024 elections. I also really can't stand progressives like Cenk, Ana, Krystal, and Kyle who say stupid fucking shit like "establishment Dems always bungle it up" or "If the Democrats lose then of course they are going to blame the progressives and the Left for it, instead taking personal responsibility for losing...." or "Democratic leadership has telling every Democrat to shut up and vote for Biden and the Democratic establishment!" I absolutely cannot Jill Stein and Cornel West and other like them who also say fucking dumb shit like "The Democrats have abandoned their base. They have no one to blame but themselves for these so called spoiled elections" or "No one owes the Democrats anything when they've always let the party down" Or RFK jr. saying that he can make an argument on how Biden is an even bigger threat to democracy than Trump because of his "censorship policies." What's even more crazy is how TYT and Secular Talk have been saying how Bernie, AOC, and every other progressive in Congress have all been co-opted by the Democratic establishment and sold their constituents out. There's something really wrong with Cenk and Ana. They've have really gone off the wall. Kyle and Krystal are also being irresponsible to some extent with what they've been saying to their viewers. All of these 3 party candidates are unbelievably delusional and incredibly selfish. They are mentally ill.

Hmm...So, it's because Israel has never really been able to catch a break or a good safe period of peace to have a chance to recover and restructure their society in a more liberal/progressive manner in some what like Europe and all of the other westernized nations out there in the world were or have been able to before. Is my understanding of that correct?

No, I've known about that for a while now. I already saw the video of that radical right-wing freak lady and what she said. The Democratic party has now been trying as hard as they can to take down RFK Jr, Jill Stein, and Cornel West like they already did successfully with that ridiculous No Labels third party presidential bid.

But the Dem establishment hasn't really done anything out of the ordinary in terms of cheating or corruption. You even said before that it's all just part of the business as usual kind of politics that has gone on for over two centuries in the US. More over there's no path to RFK jr. winning the presidency and there never was for him. He has a never been a serious, pragmatic candidate with a wide enough appeal. He's way too fringe in his stances and rhetoric. Not to mention that the way he comes off in term of his personality is too strange for most Americans.

But America regressed temporarily 9/11 for some years until we got Obama, who arguably became the first black president and the first liberal Democratic president in policy since LBJ in the 1960s. Even still, Obama still had US troops continue fighting in the Middle East to keep fighting the "war on terror." Also, what about the fact that western, central, northern, and southern European countries were decimated in WW1 and WW2 in the worst ways possible and yet they eventually bounced back years later and continued to become much more liberal/progressive than before?

Cenk and Ana have also said that part of why this is happening with RFK Jr. is because the Democratic establishment and Biden did not allow a fair kind of democratic process for the 2024 Democratic primaries that would have allowed any other potential Democratic candidate who wished to challenge and debate Biden on many pressing issues pertaining to our country.

Yeah, they are problematic too, particularly Jill Stein, who actually not only spoiled the 2016 election but also was funded by right-wing megadonors who supported Trump in 2016. RFK jr. has also been funded by radical right-wing megadonors, including Tim Mellon and other billionaire Trump supporters, who want to help spoil the 2024 election.

Yeah, that was the initial thought, but the Kennedy name, his populist and anti-establishment environmental policies, some of his economic populist views, anti-war stances, etc. has given a serious cause for concern for Biden and the Democrats. However, RFK jr. has not offered any substantive policies or ideas or even a coherent credible vision to address any of these issues for the country.

But America, Canada, and European have already had a history of having been involved in many of the deadliest and bloodiest wars in the history of mankind. Yet, despite all of these wars, they have continued to become increasingly liberal/progressive significantly. I mean why didn't the US regress in their liberalism during the Civil War, WW1, WW2, Cold War, or after 9/11 and the war on terror in the middle east?

Even if Ukraine ends up losing this war, it's still better for the country to keep fighting to continually wear down as much of Russia's resources as possible. Even if Russia wins this war, the longer this war goes on the weaker Russia will become in the long-run.

* I actually realized another mistake I made with my OP. It had to do with the Burger Court. I just realized that the Burger Court (occurred from 1969 to 1986) was actually the last liberal leaning court to date before the Rehnquist Court began to occur in 1986. However, the Burger Court became a less liberal leaning SCOTUS than the preceding Warren Court (occurred from 1953 to 1969). According to wikipedia, this court was "A symbol of the conservative 'retrenchment' promised by President Richard Nixon in the 1968 election, Burger was often overshadowed by the liberal William Brennan and the more conservative William Rehnquist. The Burger Court had a less generous interpretation of the protections offered by the Fourth Amendment and the Fifth Amendment than those of the Warren Court, but the Burger Court did not overrule any of the major precedents set by the Warren Court." ** I also just realized that while Justice Frankfurter's more conservative views prevailed during Vinson's tenure (which caused the court to become more conservative than preceding very centrist Warren court), many of the dissents written during the Vinson Court (1946-1953) had laid the groundwork for the major rulings that occurred during the succeeding Warren Court. So, the Vinson Court was essentially a transition court like the Burger Court was in its own way. *** I further now realized that while the Stone Court (1941-1946), which preceded the Vinson Court, was more centrist than either center-right or center-left, the Stone Court tended to lean slightly more liberal than conservative overall with all its rulings. In fact, according to wikipedia, "The short length of the Stone Court gave it little chance to establish a definitive legacy. However, the Stone Court continued the Constitutional Revolution of 1937 that had started during the Hughes Court and foreshadowed the liberal rulings of the Warren Court." Therefore, one could argue that the US used to have a liberal-leaning SCOTUS for about 45 years (1941-1986).