Joe Biden is worried the Republican Party might get 'clobbered.'

[Eric J in MN]

"It’s not like there’s going to be some great epiphany and people are going to wake up and go, 'oh my God, I'm now a Democrat.' And if you hear people on the rope line saying, ‘I'm a Republican,’ I say, ‘Stay a Republican.’ Vote for me but stay a Republican, because we need a Republican Party."

He later added that he's concerned about what would happen if the Republican Party was totally "clobbered."

"I'm really worried that no party should have too much power," he said. "You need a countervailing force."

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nidhiprakash/joe-biden-hunter-biden-questions?bftwnews&utm_term=4ldqpgc#4ldqpgc

If Joe Biden were eager to accomplish all the goals listed on his website then he'd be eager for the Republican Party to get "clobbered" in the 2020 election.

[JoeOtterbein]

1. K n R I'm hoping they do too Joe!

Opps. Sorry. I spoke too soon.

[msongs]

2. its at least as useful as constantly attacking the democratic party I think nt

[TwilightZone]

13. Agreed.

Plus, if the GOP wasn't around, the usual anti-Dem noise would become deafening.

[flotsam]

3. I want the Democratic party to be integrated

and the Republican party to be disintegrated!

[pnwmom]

4. "Vote for me but stay a Republican?" HELL, NO! Vote for Democrats all the way down the ticket.

We need majorities in the House and the Senate, and preferably a 2/3 majority in the Senate.

And we need statehouses controlled by Democrats to fix the gerrymandering and protect voting systems.

[redqueen]

26. +1

The hell was he thinking

[Chemisse]

36. He's trying to appeal to Republicans who are disenchanted with Trump.

Last edited Sun Dec 8, 2019, 09:16 AM - Edit history (1)

They are not ready to become Democrats, and he's saying they don't have to.

It sounds fine to me. I'd rather have one Dem vote on the ballot than zero.

[George II]

40. Disenchanted with "Biden"? Did you mean "trump"?

[Chemisse]

47. Yikes! Yes I did - will fix. Thanks.

[Scurrilous]

69. Exactly.

[TwilightZone]

5. We benefit from having the GOP around to contrast and compare.

That is, of course, assuming that voters pay attention. If they did, the GOP would be considerably weakened, which is where they would be the most useful.

[bucolic_frolic]

6. What he says is true, he just doesn't want to scare independents off

[pnwmom]

19. He told someone to stay in the Republican party, not to become an independent. nt

[Voltaire2]

75. Clue: Republicans are not Independents.

[onetexan]

83. +1 K&R

[lapucelle]

7. Your title is not the Buzzfeed story's headline.

Joe Biden Gave An Aggressive Defense Of How He Handles Criticism Of His Son

[Eric J in MN]

10. In the Latest Breaking News section

...we have to use article titles. Not in the Democratic Primary forum.

[lapucelle]

16. I just wanted the point on the record.

Caveat lector.

[RelativelyJones]

57. +11

[George II]

41. So, you feel you can misrepresent an article simply because it's not in "Latest Breaking News"?

Got it.

[George II]

44. I guess if it "works", go for it.

[doc03]

8. I agree with him one party rule either one leads to corruption nt

[pnwmom]

20. We aren't even CLOSE to one-party rule, and Biden's way, way overly optimistic

if he believes this.

If Biden is going to pass any legislation, then we need a majority in the House and the Senate -- preferably a 2/3 majority. We need people to vote for Democrats up and down the ticket -- not just for Biden.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

9. Just wow!! Imagine if Bernie has said this!!

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[W_HAMILTON]

14. Sanders did worse: he hired a team full of Jill Stein voters.

Sanders and his crew might want to clobber a political party, but their sights ain't set on the Republican Party, that's for sure.

[George II]

35. Bazinga! You hit the nail on the head.

[Thekaspervote]

45. Ouch!

[Dennis Donovan]

49. Links? Or yet another Russian disinfo rumor? n/t

[W_HAMILTON]

84. Here you go, to get you started:

This is Sanders's National Press Secretary:

Link to tweet

If you aren't already aware of all the divisiveness spewed against our 2016 candidate from Sanders's motley campaign crew, I don't know what to tell you.

[still_one]

52. +++

[George II]

31. Of course that's your first reaction. No OnE mEnTiOnEd BeNiE.

[treestar]

73. He said the Democratic party was corrupt

[NurseJackie]

80. Other smears include...

Other smears include saying that the Democratic party is "feeble" and "ideologically bankrupt". Honestly, I could never understand what good purpose it serves for anyone to say that the Democratic party is the "party of the elite" and "the party of the one-percent."

Things like that only create division and distrust and resentment. It also creates negativity. Negativity generates apathy. Apathy discourages voter turnout. Low voter turnout gives Republicans a chance to steal the elections.

Heaven help us.

[Tarc]

11. This is like those "winning the lottery won't make you happy" arguments

I'm more than willing to take that money and give it a shot, just as I'm quite willing to see what living in a clobbered-Nazi-Party country is like again.

[highplainsdem]

12. Biden understands that we need moderates to stay in both parties. He's old enough to

remember when there were lots of moderate Republicans. I remember that, too.

The last thing we need is for the Republican Party to be abandoned completely to the extreme right -- especially while so many states favor Republicans.

Moderate Republicans should vote for Biden or whoever our nominee is, of course, in 2020, to get rid of Trump.

But they should also stay in their party and try to take it back from the RWNJs.

Besides, if moderate Republicans shift en masse to the Democratic Party, our party will be pulled farther to the right, and I don't think the people here backing our more leftwing candidates want that, either.

[TwilightZone]

15. "our party will be pulled farther to the right"

I'm guessing that the people objecting to Biden's remarks didn't think that far ahead.

Unintended consequences and all that.

I agree with everything you said. We're better off having the GOP as a contrast. Of course, a weak GOP would be preferable.

[The Valley Below]

24. Thread winner!!!

[ancianita]

17. Read beyond "clobbered." He explained himself quite well, and he's right.

[pnwmom]

21. He's wrong. We need to CLOBBER them. We need to prove to them that their tactics won't work,

and we need a majority in the House and a super-majority in the Senate in order to pass legislation.

[DanieRains]

28. They / Republicans Are Truly Evil And Need To Be Destroyed

For good.

Period.

They survive on lies, hate, and fear.

Actually they belong in prison for all they do to aid and abet the Trump Crime Syndicate.

[Garrett78]

18. When Biden said a while back that there are "an awful lot of really good Republicans..."

...I'm pretty sure he meant to say, "Republicans are an awful lot."

Biden's living in an alternate reality. Virtually every Republican is an absolutely horrible person, actively undermining democracy, actively harming millions of people, actively harming the planet, fomenting and exploiting racism, sexism, homophobia and xenophobia, and so on.

And that was true even when Biden was in Congress. It didn't start with Trump. Not by a long shot.

[theaocp]

48. That's the problem here.

Look in the thread and see answers about how we need a contrast to our party, so sending their rotting party a lifeline instead of a fucking anchor is a good idea. No. Keeping them around to be able to say, "We're not them," is hideous. It's not a vision. Fuck Republicans in every such way. If they're no longer the right, the country moves left. Sounds good to me. Let's contrast our party with ideals on the LEFT and find some goddamned middle ground there.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

74. How does Joe not realize this?!

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[ritapria]

22. Poor GOP

They got clobbered in 1932 and we got Social Security. They got clobbered in 1964 and we got Medicare .Here's hoping the GOP gets clobbered again - and we get MFA

[jalan48]

23. More torture, stealing Supreme Court picks, etc? Has Joe gone off the deep end?

[TexasTowelie]

25. Laughable that with all of the paragraphs in that article

that you selected the excerpt in the OP.

Laughable, but not surprised.

[Blue_true]

27. You catch more bees with sugar than with vinegar.

Disaffected republican voters will be what gives us a victory margin in a lot of purple states.

[DanieRains]

30. Tell Them To Stop Being Evil Scumbags

About all you can do to the cult members.

The Trump Cult

[Blue_true]

33. A consistent 12-15% of registered republicans seem to loath Trump.

If they vote for the democrat, that translate into around 1% more votes for the democrat on Election Day, when a race is tight, a free 1% is huge.

Now, I am not advocating abandonment of Democratic Party principles to attract them. They have a simple choice, vote for a patriotic, competent democrat or vote for an incompetent and evil bastard. Looks like that 12-15% are leaning heavily toward the former, without our nominee promising them anything other than sane and competent governance.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

29. I'd be overjoyed if

Republicans got clobbered

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

34. That's no malarkey!! Joe, are you listening?!

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[George II]

39. I'm sure "Joe" knows what he's doing, and he's not worried about the obvious partisan slams.

[George II]

32. NO, Joe Biden isn't "worried" the republican party might get clobbered. SMH.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

37. Thanks...

That's what I thought ..

[George II]

38. And the hits keep on coming. Unbelievable.

[The Valley Below]

42. I'm sure there are people in this country who were prefer to live in a one party state.

I'm not one of them.

But sure wish today's GOP was the party of Ike, and not Donald J Trump.

Sickens me.

[seaglass]

62. What do you mean?

He later added that he's concerned about what would happen if the Republican Party was totally "clobbered."

"I'm really worried that no party should have too much power," he said. "You need a countervailing force."

The Republican party is not going to have zero representation in Congress - how many Repubs does Joe think are needed?

This is one of the reasons I cannot trust him, he is giving too much credit to "good" Republicans - who are they? I want Trump's enablers in Congress gone - they are either true believers or cowards and I see no use for them.

The Democratic party is a big tent in which some MoC represent majority of rw or moderate constituencies, they aren't all going to turn into AOC clones. There will continue to be a variety of opinions within our party.

I understand that Joe has received a lot of personal support from a variety of members on the Repub side through the numerous tragedies in his life but I think he is confusing friendship with politics to our detriment.

[Saviolo]

65. Say it again louder for the folks in the back!

Far more succinct than anything I could say. A lot of the people who work in the Senate or in Congress are friends outside of politics, and you can bet when they're meeting socially that they don't call each other out on the loathsome injurious policies they support.

[Autumn]

70. Can you explain how a Democrat president works with these Republicans? nt

[Saviolo]

71. I don't think they can.

But it's not a failure of the Democratic candidate, it's part of the Republican strategy. Joe is dreaming, and I think there are definitely some Democrats who think this way, but I can guarantee there are almost no Republicans who think this way.

The Republican party in its current form is incompatible with a just or equal society.

[Hekate]

43. We need a return to an honorable 2-party system. But the current GOP needs a good clobbering...

...before they can get back where they should be.

I have no particular quarrel with what Joe said -- to a great extent I see him as running a General Election campaign in the here and now, and I think it will work.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

46. I have no quarrel either, as Joe won't make it to the General Election.

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Autumn]

50. I agree, I don't think he will stay in through the end of the primary either. nt

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

55. Betcha a jar of spaghetti sauce that Joe drops out of the race before Super Tuesday!!

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Autumn]

58. What kind?

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

61. The kind they keep on shelves, according to Joe!!

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[I_UndergroundPanther]

64. Don't get prego

It's got GMO tomatoes in it and it made me deal with low grade nausea for 2 days,and the runs too.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

66. Damn!! Love Prego... now you got me thinkin'.

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[I_UndergroundPanther]

67. Prego labels say GMO

I used to love Prego too.
I use Neumann's own and ragu now.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

68. Thanks for the warning!!

Bernie/Elizabeth or Elizabeth/Bernie 2020!!
Either way, they're stronger together!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[rampartc]

51. don't worry, be happy

the republican party is a racketeering organization of grifters.

[Hav]

53. I fully agree with Biden

The current crop of corrupt Republicans needs to get clobbered, though.

But I don't think a one-party rule without proper and independent checks and balances is something that we'd like to see. Sure, you get all your policies through. But these policies are only as good as the people in power and there is a danger of tyranny for those in the minority.

[YOHABLO]

54. WTF? Yeah, we need some more shit for brains Republicans.

The Republican party as it stands can self implode for all I care. I seriously do not think someone of Abraham Lincoln's intellect would be a member of the Republican Party of today. Do you?

[50 Shades Of Blue]

56. Get back to me when Repugs start saying we need a Democratic Party, Joe.

You know, to countervail them.

I won't hold my breath.

[Hav]

59. Right, it's authoritarian Repubs who'd prefer

if they had total unchecked control and no party with the power to oppose them. Biden is better than that.

[Autumn]

63. All Dems are better than that. But can you explain how one works with people like that?

[TwilightZone]

72. We probably shouldn't look to the GOP as role models

or pattern our behavior after theirs.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

60. He's right that a one-party government isn't a good thing.

There has to be a so-called loyal opposition, which makes it possible, and necessary, for the parties to test their ideas against each other. But the Republican Party isn't going to go away if it gets "clobbered." If that happens, some of its members will try to re-create the more moderate GOP of a few decades ago while some will try to move even further to the right. The problem is that you can't have a normally-functioning political system when one of two parties is batshit crazy. Our system isn't structured to accommodate multiple parties like a parliamentary system, so both of the parties have to operate in good faith. Right now the GOP is not doing that, and the eventual result is probably that it gets an ass-whupping. If so, if it reforms itself into a conventional conservative party the system can function. If it becomes trumpier than ever, it can't.

[SterlingPound]

76. and yet i am sure he is dead set against a multi party system

and will help pass legislation and do all in his power to keep us a two-party system

[Aaron Pereira]

77. We need to "clobber" Republicans just to restore the balance of power.

I want a President who will work to flip Republican seats and create a filibuster-proof majority for Democrats. Maybe Joe should tell us how many Democrats is too many Democrats. This is disturbing.

[TDale313]

78. You can't play nice with modern day Repugs

He can be nostalgic as he wants for the good old days when there were reasonable Republicans. Not where we’re at, and the other side just sees it as weakness when we try and reach across the aisle. Humble their asses, show them this shit is not acceptable, 20 years from now maybe they can start rebuilding a sane party again. For now, fuck ‘em. You do not have people acting in good faith on the other side, and if you trust them you’re the fool.

[Aaron Pereira]

79. You bring up a good point.

The only way to force a positive change in the Republican party will be crushing losses in several election cycles. It's our civic duty to make sure bad political actors are forced out of the system.

[Beartracks]

81. The Republican party NEEDS to be small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Clobber them. And let it happen.

They're not the Republican party of yesteryear.

==========

[delisen]

82. We are in no danger of the dem party being too powerful

We have a narrow chance to save ourselves from authoritarianism and oligarchy.