The Sky-Is-Falling Panic from Biden's Illness-Impaired Debate Performance Has Its Roots in Ableism and Fails to Recognize Biden's "Vulnerable Strength"
The Sky-Is-Falling Panic from Biden's Illness-Impaired Debate Performance Has Its Roots in Ableism and Fails to Recognize Biden's "Vulnerable Strength"
This is ableism gone mad! Are we seriously expected to believe that a head cold is the cause of Biden’s incoherent and completely irrelevant ramblings? Is a cold causing him to talk about his golf handicap? Is a head cold why he’s forgotten to mention the major crises facing the world? And so on…
Since you say it is ablelism to want to dump Biden because he was incoherent for much of the debate, let me ask you a question. If you, as a person with MS, were drafted to go to war as a combat soldier, would you do it? Probably not, you would acknowledge that your illness might make you a liability to yourself and fellow soldiers, if you could not keep up with the pace of the fighting, etc. Now apply that analogy to Biden. No, we are not sending Biden to fight a war, but the presidency is a very demanding job. It doesn't respect bedtimes. Why isnt' it okay to acknowledge he is no longer up to the job at hand? It's really not ageist or ableist to question whether he is up to the job of "Commander in Chief". Doing so is imposing your agenda or cause and saying that trumps the good of the nation. When my mother got macular degeneration, she turned in the keys to her car.
1.) I would never be drafted by the U.S. military. First, I'm psst the ages of selective service. Second, The draft board would not accept me because I have MS. The military would not take my father-in-law during Vietnam because he has flat feet. Third, equating a physical disability to someone who is 81 and not cognitively impaired is a logical fallacy.
2.) When did a head cold and a hoarse voice become a symptom of cognitive impairment ans dementia?
3) Mt two uncles golfed together for years before and after they became elders. Amateur golfers often have golf handicaps. It doesn't mean they are disabled. Also Trump talked about golf too. If you want to criticize anyone, criticize Dana Bash and Jake "I dated Monica Lewinsky once" tapper by being shitty journalists and moderators. They did not push back on Trump's over 30 lies.
4.) Have You ever done your best when sick with rhe cold or the flu? Obama lost his first debate to Romney. Who won in 2012?
5.) When Biden is re-elected, at least we can still criticize him. If Trump wins, he will inflict retribution on those who criticize him.
6.) Lawrence O'Donnell who worked in government and served as chief of staff for the late New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan explained four months ago why dumping Biden this fat into the campaign is a bad idea. He also explained on Friday why people panicking are missing a lot. The link below is from his show 6 months ago.
This was more than a cold. This was more than just a bad night. Yes, it's very bad that Biden, for the good of the country and his own party, didn't step aside earlier and allow a primary to happen to choose his successor. It is not ableist or ageist to say he is not up to the job. It is reality. Democrats are just insisting on not seeing what they don't want to see. That's what I mean about imposing your personal experience or agenda as a lens on this. Yes, Trump lied his ass off, but it was painful to watch Biden's inability to coherently address those lies in real time. He was stuck in 2020 talking points. And continuing to prop him up is just feeding Trump's lie that he is the puppet of elites or the Deep State or whatever.... It really doesn't feel Democratic at all, when you put aside your own biases. It feels tragic.
As I replied elsewhere a head cold and hoarse voice aren’t symptoms of dementia and I don’t see people saying they are.
Anyone in their right mind can agree that Trump and project 2025 are horrifying prospects - which is why a competent challenger is required.
I currently can’t work because of concussion and my disability - the cognitive damage we saw on debate stage has some similarities … losing track of thoughts, saying the wrong words, not able to respond as I previously did.
I’ve done extremely high stress/high pressure jobs with a cold and/or splitting migraine - and managed fine. With cognitive damage I could not do them at the same level.
Also I think Trump sets such a low bar that anyone stooping down to meet it does us all a disservice - no one (serious) on the left is cheering for Trump. They want to beat him back - which is why Biden needs to step down, and should have a year ago.
Honestly I’d argue that saying the critiques of Biden are ableist, is in itself ableist. Biden has overseen the mass disabling of americans with long covid, and Palestinians with his genocide.
He deserves harsh critique and saying that people are ableist for wanting a competent person to challenge Trump - is projecting an inaccurate picture of concerns, and assuming people don’t understand political reality - and you are assuming people can’t sit with two truths - that Trump is terrible and dangerous, and that Biden is not capable to match him.
Biden can’t beat Trump, especially now this narrative is dominating - the base won’t turn out. It’s late but better late than never to try and salvage the situation.
* accidental send - the phrasing “in their right mind” wasn’t correct and is itself ableist. I was trying to think of a way to phrase it that acknowledges that not all Trump voters are terrible people, but afraid people - but ironically- concussion brain! Forgot to go back
I've been eagerly awaiting for a post like yours. Been wondering if,... (let's just pretend for a minute, ok?),.... IF.... anyone.... decided say,... for a bet.... to defend Biden's cognition and gaslight the shit out of everyone with half a functional brain cell,... even AFTER this...ummmm..... "debate" (bwahahahaha!!!),...... HOW ON EARTH would they try to do it? HOW???? It's an impossible task, it's an indefensible position, there is NO other way to spin this!.....Oh well, your post is how, LOL
The question troubling most of us is not the general question of what Biden, in a general sense, is still capable of. That is a very different question than the one question I care about desperately: Will he be able to win the election? That is the only question that matters and it matters beyond all reasonable measure because the alternative is unthinkable. Whether he stays on the ticket is a decision that rests in far too few hands at this point. Hands that have apparently been lying to us for a while. They owe all of us an honest answer before the convention. Perhaps it is harsh but we do not owe Mr. Biden the benefit of the doubt. He and his closest advisers owe us the best possible shot at keeping Trump out of the WH. I f Joe Biden is their honest answer, then I’m all in for Biden but it does say something rather frightening about the state of the Democratic Party.
I respectfully disagree, Laura, and here's my reason: We are at what could be a critical point after the debate because something was clearly amiss with President Biden who has done such a great job--and not enough is known about that or about what was wrong during the debate. As a president, he must make decisions and he has, brilliantly, but as a candidate he must communicate and he failed at that during the debate. The question we who support him and must face is whether he should gracefully concede and admit that one term was enough. I do think something is wrong, perhaps a medical condition that has not yet been diagnosed. That performance was not only a cold--how could it be? I'll vote for him but my fear is that the race is too close, that what is at stake is too great to allow Trump to win because, if he does, and he might, we will lose our democracy, our Constitution and our freedom. By not allowing someone younger and stronger to take over--and there is still time--he will be making the mistake that Ruth Bader Ginsburg made. I know this may not be what you want to hear and I know that we are not the deciders for this question that I raise, but I do think we are at a critical point to save our country and prevent Trump, his morally deficient persona, his desire for an autocracy and his lies to take over.
I absolutely agree with you and thank you for being so thorough in your analysis. It makes perfect sense! I have been so angry with the main stream medias description of what they want it to have been because it gives them crap to write about for days and apparently the truth is just too hard to cover because it’s boring. It’s infuriating That a family trip that has been planned for weeks has turned into a Biden family huddle to figure out if he’s gonna keep running. The writer of the article gets to go on TV and talk about his bullshit article and the mainstream media gets to keep the narrativeand it’s all complete garbage
This is not about P Biden any more , a new candidate is not feasible at this point ….this is part of project 2025 happening right in front of our eyes! Biden / Harris needs our support not petty grievances, there’s to much on the line & the future of this country that just gave rapist in chief felon immunity ! We need to show up in droves in Nov!!! Or the next 40 years will be irreversible….Heather Cox Richardson explains the election situation regarding delegates , you don’t just start over…. Biden has done more for this country than I have ever seen….get past the fear & attack back ! Blame & no spine dems get us nowhere. Or say goodbye to women’s freedoms, vote, Social security, porn , weed, speech , destruction of EPA/ more pollution, veterans disability, RSDI, SSI, healthcare…. Watch Meidastouch network is the best , F corporate media r wing Murdoch news! politics girl, Texas Paul , Tennessee Brando , Thom Hartmann report/ progressive Michael cohen on podcast or YouTube
This is ableism gone mad! Are we seriously expected to believe that a head cold is the cause of Biden’s incoherent and completely irrelevant ramblings? Is a cold causing him to talk about his golf handicap? Is a head cold why he’s forgotten to mention the major crises facing the world? And so on…
I agree with you that ableism has gone mad, but it seems you are misunderstanding what ableism actually means.
Since you say it is ablelism to want to dump Biden because he was incoherent for much of the debate, let me ask you a question. If you, as a person with MS, were drafted to go to war as a combat soldier, would you do it? Probably not, you would acknowledge that your illness might make you a liability to yourself and fellow soldiers, if you could not keep up with the pace of the fighting, etc. Now apply that analogy to Biden. No, we are not sending Biden to fight a war, but the presidency is a very demanding job. It doesn't respect bedtimes. Why isnt' it okay to acknowledge he is no longer up to the job at hand? It's really not ageist or ableist to question whether he is up to the job of "Commander in Chief". Doing so is imposing your agenda or cause and saying that trumps the good of the nation. When my mother got macular degeneration, she turned in the keys to her car.
Let me address what you're saying.
1.) I would never be drafted by the U.S. military. First, I'm psst the ages of selective service. Second, The draft board would not accept me because I have MS. The military would not take my father-in-law during Vietnam because he has flat feet. Third, equating a physical disability to someone who is 81 and not cognitively impaired is a logical fallacy.
2.) When did a head cold and a hoarse voice become a symptom of cognitive impairment ans dementia?
3) Mt two uncles golfed together for years before and after they became elders. Amateur golfers often have golf handicaps. It doesn't mean they are disabled. Also Trump talked about golf too. If you want to criticize anyone, criticize Dana Bash and Jake "I dated Monica Lewinsky once" tapper by being shitty journalists and moderators. They did not push back on Trump's over 30 lies.
4.) Have You ever done your best when sick with rhe cold or the flu? Obama lost his first debate to Romney. Who won in 2012?
5.) When Biden is re-elected, at least we can still criticize him. If Trump wins, he will inflict retribution on those who criticize him.
6.) Lawrence O'Donnell who worked in government and served as chief of staff for the late New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan explained four months ago why dumping Biden this fat into the campaign is a bad idea. He also explained on Friday why people panicking are missing a lot. The link below is from his show 6 months ago.
https://youtu.be/_9vsivYrC4U?si=Yfqzqp2hUFloXJMn
This was more than a cold. This was more than just a bad night. Yes, it's very bad that Biden, for the good of the country and his own party, didn't step aside earlier and allow a primary to happen to choose his successor. It is not ableist or ageist to say he is not up to the job. It is reality. Democrats are just insisting on not seeing what they don't want to see. That's what I mean about imposing your personal experience or agenda as a lens on this. Yes, Trump lied his ass off, but it was painful to watch Biden's inability to coherently address those lies in real time. He was stuck in 2020 talking points. And continuing to prop him up is just feeding Trump's lie that he is the puppet of elites or the Deep State or whatever.... It really doesn't feel Democratic at all, when you put aside your own biases. It feels tragic.
As I replied elsewhere a head cold and hoarse voice aren’t symptoms of dementia and I don’t see people saying they are.
Anyone in their right mind can agree that Trump and project 2025 are horrifying prospects - which is why a competent challenger is required.
I currently can’t work because of concussion and my disability - the cognitive damage we saw on debate stage has some similarities … losing track of thoughts, saying the wrong words, not able to respond as I previously did.
I’ve done extremely high stress/high pressure jobs with a cold and/or splitting migraine - and managed fine. With cognitive damage I could not do them at the same level.
Also I think Trump sets such a low bar that anyone stooping down to meet it does us all a disservice - no one (serious) on the left is cheering for Trump. They want to beat him back - which is why Biden needs to step down, and should have a year ago.
Honestly I’d argue that saying the critiques of Biden are ableist, is in itself ableist. Biden has overseen the mass disabling of americans with long covid, and Palestinians with his genocide.
He deserves harsh critique and saying that people are ableist for wanting a competent person to challenge Trump - is projecting an inaccurate picture of concerns, and assuming people don’t understand political reality - and you are assuming people can’t sit with two truths - that Trump is terrible and dangerous, and that Biden is not capable to match him.
Biden can’t beat Trump, especially now this narrative is dominating - the base won’t turn out. It’s late but better late than never to try and salvage the situation.
* accidental send - the phrasing “in their right mind” wasn’t correct and is itself ableist. I was trying to think of a way to phrase it that acknowledges that not all Trump voters are terrible people, but afraid people - but ironically- concussion brain! Forgot to go back
I've been eagerly awaiting for a post like yours. Been wondering if,... (let's just pretend for a minute, ok?),.... IF.... anyone.... decided say,... for a bet.... to defend Biden's cognition and gaslight the shit out of everyone with half a functional brain cell,... even AFTER this...ummmm..... "debate" (bwahahahaha!!!),...... HOW ON EARTH would they try to do it? HOW???? It's an impossible task, it's an indefensible position, there is NO other way to spin this!.....Oh well, your post is how, LOL
The question troubling most of us is not the general question of what Biden, in a general sense, is still capable of. That is a very different question than the one question I care about desperately: Will he be able to win the election? That is the only question that matters and it matters beyond all reasonable measure because the alternative is unthinkable. Whether he stays on the ticket is a decision that rests in far too few hands at this point. Hands that have apparently been lying to us for a while. They owe all of us an honest answer before the convention. Perhaps it is harsh but we do not owe Mr. Biden the benefit of the doubt. He and his closest advisers owe us the best possible shot at keeping Trump out of the WH. I f Joe Biden is their honest answer, then I’m all in for Biden but it does say something rather frightening about the state of the Democratic Party.
I respectfully disagree, Laura, and here's my reason: We are at what could be a critical point after the debate because something was clearly amiss with President Biden who has done such a great job--and not enough is known about that or about what was wrong during the debate. As a president, he must make decisions and he has, brilliantly, but as a candidate he must communicate and he failed at that during the debate. The question we who support him and must face is whether he should gracefully concede and admit that one term was enough. I do think something is wrong, perhaps a medical condition that has not yet been diagnosed. That performance was not only a cold--how could it be? I'll vote for him but my fear is that the race is too close, that what is at stake is too great to allow Trump to win because, if he does, and he might, we will lose our democracy, our Constitution and our freedom. By not allowing someone younger and stronger to take over--and there is still time--he will be making the mistake that Ruth Bader Ginsburg made. I know this may not be what you want to hear and I know that we are not the deciders for this question that I raise, but I do think we are at a critical point to save our country and prevent Trump, his morally deficient persona, his desire for an autocracy and his lies to take over.
I absolutely agree with you and thank you for being so thorough in your analysis. It makes perfect sense! I have been so angry with the main stream medias description of what they want it to have been because it gives them crap to write about for days and apparently the truth is just too hard to cover because it’s boring. It’s infuriating That a family trip that has been planned for weeks has turned into a Biden family huddle to figure out if he’s gonna keep running. The writer of the article gets to go on TV and talk about his bullshit article and the mainstream media gets to keep the narrativeand it’s all complete garbage
https://youtu.be/DQNtIPfDyh8?si=Gkge33CWQqti0czj
This is not about P Biden any more , a new candidate is not feasible at this point ….this is part of project 2025 happening right in front of our eyes! Biden / Harris needs our support not petty grievances, there’s to much on the line & the future of this country that just gave rapist in chief felon immunity ! We need to show up in droves in Nov!!! Or the next 40 years will be irreversible….Heather Cox Richardson explains the election situation regarding delegates , you don’t just start over…. Biden has done more for this country than I have ever seen….get past the fear & attack back ! Blame & no spine dems get us nowhere. Or say goodbye to women’s freedoms, vote, Social security, porn , weed, speech , destruction of EPA/ more pollution, veterans disability, RSDI, SSI, healthcare…. Watch Meidastouch network is the best , F corporate media r wing Murdoch news! politics girl, Texas Paul , Tennessee Brando , Thom Hartmann report/ progressive Michael cohen on podcast or YouTube