Nate Silver on the hysterical overreaction by Biden critics to the Corn Pop story

[highplainsdem]

Link to tweet

Part of it is the belief by Democrats who don't like Biden that Democrats who *do* like Biden must be uninformed or naive, or that their support must be skin-deep, and therefore they're just one viral video or gaffe or senior moment away from flipping over to another candidate.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

1. "Hysterical"? Huh.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

45. I missed the part where I got my hopes up, or said "hysterical" was banned.

[Cha]

2. Now watch Nate Silver being

dissed!

Oh I hope not.. he makes good points!

Thanks,

[Gothmog]

3. I agree with Nate on this

Biden supporters are not uninformed or naive.

[Cha]

4. Nah.. we've been through the

political mill a few times or more.

[MustLoveBeagles]

6. It's Deja vu all over again

I was having 2016 flashbacks.

[Cha]

8. I bet.. it's one

long slog..

Hopefully we'll kick trump out this time like he never should have been rigged in the first place.

Beagles

[MustLoveBeagles]

9. Kicking the Orange Menace to the curb should be the most important thing

Not the trivial nonsense.

Mahalo Cha

[Gothmog]

50. I and others have been working to turn Texas blue for a very long time

I have been active in politics for a very long time. I am seeing the fruits of our efforts and I really believe that Biden is the best person to flip Texas

[Cha]

56. I applaud you and Dem Texans

for all your diligent focused work on turning Texas BLUE, Goth!

[MustLoveBeagles]

5. I do too

This was a really stupid controversy.

[Demsrule86]

34. Moderates won the midterm and gave us the house...the country is center left at best...the

senate map makes me want to weep...and without the blue wall we have no path to the presidency...so I think the idea that the time is right to try to elect a president who is of the left is a foolish endeavor- doomed to failure. Don't get me wrong, I would like nothing more. But Biden is not really a centrist but progressive. He appeals to centrists. There is a difference.

Biden supporters are not naive...those who support Warren and to a lesser extent Sanders are the ones who exhibit naivete in terms of how presidential politics work. Pres. Obama liked Biden but the reason he was chosen was to deliver the Mid West to Obama...and he he did...twice. And he will win the mid west in 20. He is up in Ohio for God's sake. He will win back the blue wall states and God willing, give us a landslide that allows us to take the Senate back...and deliver an overhwelming and humiliating loss to the the slimy orange monster that the vile murderous sociopath can't tamper with by cheating even with help from his Russian buddies. Biden will be a great president and ready on day one.

I like Warren, but a liberal senator from Massachusssetts who supports MFA simply won't win the Mid West in a general. She will win the popular vote like Hillary but lose the electoral college IMHO.

[Gothmog]

49. I agree that moderates won the mid terms

In Texas, we flipped two red seats (TX CD 7 and TX CD 31) with moderate and sane candidates. Lizzie Fletcher and Colin Allred are moderate democrats who were able to win these seats.

I want to beat trump and I think that Joe Biden is the best person to accomplished this.

[Demsrule86]

52. I really like Lizzie Fletcher...saw her on some show...

[Gothmog]

53. I am member of the Harris County Democratic Lawyers Association

Lizzie is active in this group. She is a great litigator

[Hortensis]

41. This pernicious nonsense has distracted far from fighting racism.

Almost half the electorate has been voting for the white power party. The other half is committed to stopping them.

[Thekaspervote]

7. They try and pick him apart over the smallest of things. Nothing short of despicable

Good news... it isn’t working!!

[Cha]

10. The latest I've seen is..

Why hasn't President Obama endorsed Biden by now?

So many "Gotchas" so little time.

kasper

[MustLoveBeagles]

11. Good grief

If he did and endorsed Biden there would be no end to the howls of outrage. The Obama's are doing the right thing by staying out of it.

[Cha]

15. Solid point!

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1287&pid=282956

[Thekaspervote]

17. Hi Cha!! Yup saw that one.

It looks so pathetic to now drag in prez Obama and Michelle into the fray.

[Cha]

20. It kinda does.

[Demsrule86]

36. Some here and on twitter didn't even like Pres. Obama...I well remember some of the posts and recs

for very anti Obama articles...(used car salesman comes to mind). I resent the "you support Biden because you are stupid and afraid"...kind of posts I have seen. It is not true, I chose Biden after careful numeric analysis of the electoral college maps and where our best chances lie...I do like Biden but I would choose any candidate who had the best chance to win a general... As for being afraid, anyone who is not terrified of the consequences if Trump gets reelected isn't paying attention.

We have made the decision to send our youngest daughter who is gay to Ireland if he is re-elected. She already faces more forms of discrimination since Trump was elected- some quite dangerous. My husband's parents came over from Ireland and we have the right of return.

I deal in that which is possible not my hearts desire.

[Cha]

55. Hope we have a Dem

President I 2021 but that sounds like a wonderful plan for your daughter as back up, Dems!

[JI7]

14. not only does it not work but it backfires

also it keeps the election focused on Biden.

[Land Shark]

12. Would be great if the ONLY candidate needing "help" was Trump

I think people want to be able to say trump needs mental status exams, without that then being turned around on the Dem nominee -- whether that is Biden or anyone else. It is not about weak support per se. But i do get why someone might see it that way.

[JI7]

13. there are stone Biden people who get way too defensive but many anti Biden people

do come off pretty clueless.

[Thekaspervote]

19. More ageism

I think you will find Biden supporters are well informed as is our candidate of choice.

You’re entitled to your opinion, but Negative posts don’t change the minds of voters

[ecstatic]

18. They're going about it the wrong way. It will hurt us in the GE, if he's the nominee.

Present your "better" option rather than focusing all your energy on what Biden just said.

[lapfog_1]

27. yes, please

If I had one wish it would be for Democrats (those running for POTUS and their supporters) to present positive massages about what THEY (the candidate) bring to the table and not what other Democratic candidates "lack".

I know Warren brings a whole slew of plans... well thought out plans. And the only negative swipe she has made (I believe) is the one about "why run for POTUS on the things we CAN'T do as Democrats?&quot

The other candidates bring their strengths as well... Mayor Pete might just be the smartest person in the entire pack, Beto is the most passionate, Booker brings a Jersey "street smart" vibe and Harris brings a proprietorial zeal... and all the rest bring something as well.

If you like a candidate... tell me why I should vote for them... don't tell me why I shouldn't vote for the candidate I've picked right now (started off with Beto, switched to Harris... now onto Biden... donated to all three plus Tom Steyer so he could qualify).

[The Mouth]

48. AMEN!

[BlueMississippi]

21. Nate is absolutely correct

The ultra left has been targeting Biden, a great VP and an honest, decent, competent public servant since even before he announced to destroy him only because he is a fly in the ointment of their socialist dreams.

Their track record of disaster is not teaching them any lessons.

Lucy Flores - fail
Anita Hill - fail
Iraq war - fail
crime bill - fail
busing - fail
"so called gaffes" -- fail
"there are some good republicans" - fail
Corn Pop - fail

The detractors are completely oblivious to the fact that Democrats know what these same forces did before and are now wiser. They will not let Biden be Hillaryfied. It is also turning off neutral Democrats and making them lean towards Biden.

Wise people know that doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is foolish.

[onetexan]

28. +1 -K&R

[relayerbob]

22. TBH

I smell a lot of desperation in the air, you can read it in some the donation emails and in social media. The field is narrowing and that's a bit scary for some, I suspect.

[orleans]

23. could someone tell me what the fucking point was

to that corn pop story?????

[Demsrule86]

37. It was to bash Biden...catch him in a 'lie'...just like they insisted that Biden lied in a story

about a soldier...their sources...the right wing...and interviews with other soldiers...I wonder what party some of them came from...Biden stuck to his guns...good for him. And of course they counted on it being so old that there would be no corroboraton...too bad for them...should have done their research. Those who promoted this story look foolish.

[orleans]

58. i didn't mean what was the point to this thread

i meant what was the damn point of biden telling that STUPID story???

[Tarheel_Dem]

24. Unless he decides, for some unforeseen reason, to drop out Biden will be the nominee. nt

[Sugarcoated]

25. Word

[quickesst]

26. Nate Silver just nailed it

That's why there are about 5 to 10 are these threads started every day. Most of them backfire, and only serve to increase Joe's favorable ratings. You would think someone would learn after a while.

[BlueTsunami2018]

29. I haven't seen or heard anything about this except here.

Not on Facebook, not on the news, not anywhere. No one cares except for a small subset on the left.

Whatever.

[highplainsdem]

32. That "small set on the left" includes a lot of Twitter and quite a few in the media.

Last edited Tue Sep 17, 2019, 11:08 AM - Edit history (1)

Just search Twitter or Google for

biden corn pop

and you'll see the overreaction.

The worst were the stories and tweets suggesting Corn Pop didn't even exist and Biden had made the story up, when a few minutes of googling would have shown the story has been confirmed by a former head of the Delaware NAACP, who was there when it happened.

And then there were objections to Biden telling the story even if it were true, because

Corn Pop was short (apparently short gang members, even if armed and facing someone unarmed, aren't dangerous)

or

there must be something wrong with Biden to talk about this incident (never mind that it's well known in Wilmington and a favorite Biden story with the black community there, which loves Biden)

or

Biden shouldn't be telling the story because it plays into harmful stereotypes (see above; the black community has no problem with it).

Some of the ridicule seems to have centered on Corn Pop's nickname. As if Biden were somehow responsible for that.

I don't think I've ever seen such a ridiculous overreaction to any anecdote told by any candidate.

More than anything, I think it shows the desperation of Biden's opponents and critics on the left as well as the right.

Nate Silver nailed it.

[elocs]

30. It's not a matter of skin deep support but being thin skinned. n/t

[highplainsdem]

33. It isn't being thin-skinned to respond to an onslaught of mostly unreasonable and unfair attacks.

[Act_of_Reparation]

35. What's fair and/or reasonable?

[Demsrule86]

38. The Biden attacks are unfair and mostly fact free...so I suggest looking at them for examples of

'unfair'.

[Act_of_Reparation]

40. I am looking for examples of reasonable or fair criticisms.

Would you care to provide one, or is your answer really "pretty much nothing"?

[Demsrule86]

54. There are hundreds of threads...starting with maybe Flores...I consider all of them unfair. Maybe

you don't like his policy, I don't know. Why not talk policy instead of faux gaffes and all the rest...not once have I mentioned any negative stuff about Warren...nothing I have said her policies will cause us to lose...but no personal attacks. There is a long shot chance she could be the nominee. I am not going to damage her here or on social media...but the Biden attacks which is what they are have been horrific and I consider them wrong...yes I know you have the 'right' to post as you choose but that doesn't make it a good idea...not you in particular...just generally. I am damned if I will search for one or two in particular so you can find a reason why it is 'fair'...you have seen them and have posted in them too...you know what they are...I choose not to play in the fair criticism 'game'.

[LanternWaste]

43. Cool bumper sticker. Kinda like "keep on truckin'!" but with less imagination.

[Guilded Lilly]

31. Sadly, some Dems are not immune to the Drama Queen Reality Show psyche that infests America.

[dsc]

39. Let's be blunt

the fact is many non Biden supporters are convinced of this since Biden's support is AA and older. This would never be thought about other voters.

[BlueMississippi]

42. Yes ... to some extent that is true

Older, wiser people who don't want to gift the world to the far-left created entitled brats with their tax money. The "free this" and "free that" only generates record crowds of the potential recipients and socialist-tendency people who get to live in a coveted "revolution" and utopia of their dreams.

[kcr]

46. Nate Silver is retweeting Conor Friedersdorf

Friedersdorf, who is a right-winger, is claiming that this has generated more criticism than his claim about the Iraq War vote. This is pretty much standard Friedersdorf when it comes to political analysis. Nate Silver should stick to numbers. He's much better at that.

[Scurrilous]

47. ...

[melman]

51. So you're saying we should talk more about Iraq?

[Gothmog]

57. Why is it so hard to accept the concept that Joe Biden is popular and electable

Link to tweet

Biden consistently has commanded a staggering lead among black voters. Two-thirds of black voters over 65 are backing Biden, as well as 42 percent of black voters overall; Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) comes in a distant second with about 12 percent support. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is down at 8 percent and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg is not even registering at 1 percent.

This sounds like a pretty interesting story. Instead, “frontrunner, but …” is a common refrain. Consider the new Axios-NewsWhip 2020 tracker that found Biden has been bombarded by negative coverage. Of the 100 stories about Biden that got the most social media attention, 77 were negative. Presumably, the same is true of cable news.

Even with the magnification of Biden’s gaffe-du-jour and the flow of media admiration of Warren’s surge — both of which reflect a true story — Biden’s backers are the most committed. Nearly 65 percent of his supporters say they’ll definitely support him, as opposed to just 34 percent of those who support other candidates.....

Why is it so hard for people to grasp that Biden isn’t just the most “electable” but, rather, the candidate with positions most in line with Democrats’ preferences? His platform is made up of policies that poll incredibly well and his supporters aren’t masking their love for progressives in favor of a safe bet. They like Joe.