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1. It's really worth paying attention to Biden's words here. “Some say Democrats are angry...well I don’t believe it.” We have an unaddressed climate crisis, abortion rights under siege, migrant kids detained & dying, maybe war with Iran but Uncle Joe is not angry.
2. This is Biden's strategy in a nutshell: “Some say Democrats are angry...well I don’t believe it.” The pitch is a return to pre-2016 normality & working with GOP. It ties in with Pelosi's no impeachment & slow-walking investigation of Trump. It's pure folly.
3. Who will Biden win in the general election with this message of "we're not angry, we'll return things to normal, we'll work with GOP"? Never Trump conservatives like Bret Stephens seems to like it but Stephens already voted against Trump in 2016. It wasn't enough.
4. Biden's message of "we're not angry, we'll return to normal, we'll work with GOP" will demobilize key Democratic groups, while Trump will run on an angry message (Coup attempt! Treason! Lock 'em Up) which will mobilize his base.
5. "The best lack all conviction, while the worst/ Are full of passionate intensity." -- Yeats.
Democratic Party: let's get lacking all conviction to run against passionate intensity.
Democratic Party: let's get lacking all conviction to run against passionate intensity.
6. Anyways, I think there's an opportunity here for other candidates (particularly Sanders, Warren & Harris) to take up anger question. Give speech: "People are angry & scared. For good reason. We need to channel that anger into political organizing to defeat Trumpism & GOP."
7. This goes beyond political messaging. The anger is out there in the world. It's real. It needs to be acknowledged and given voice so that it can be channelled in productive directions. To simply deny the anger is to deny reality.
8. If Biden is nominee & he runs on "unity" message then once again Trump (even though he's president) will be able to position himself as the insurgent fighting the status quo restorationist. Biden will give Trump a licence to run again as the change candidate. Madness.
