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ein0p | on: Trump wins presidency for second time
Nobody picked Harris. She hasn't won a primary even once. Trump won it three times. The primary is the only step in the whole election process where the actual "democracy" can even remotely happen.
Sohcahtoa82 | parent | next
Fine and true, but setting aside the principle of the matter, did anyone actually prefer Biden over Harris?

I held my nose as I voted for Biden in the primary, but I don't even recall anybody else being on the ballot. I was elated that he stepped down and endorsed his VP.

Admittedly, it sets a scary precedent, I certainly won't disagree. But setting the implications aside, was it really the wrong choice? Did Biden really fare better than Harris in the general? I certainly don't think he would have. I think Trump's margin of victory would have been even higher against Biden.

umanwizard | root | parent
> Fine and true, but setting aside the principle of the matter, did anyone actually prefer Biden over Harris?

Probably not, but does it matter? Biden was also not chosen in anything resembling a democratic way. US political primaries are not democratic.

The general population being presented a choice between two options that were selected by two ultra-partisan entrenched entities is not democracy.

To have a system somewhat resembling democracy you would have to either (1) open primaries to everyone regardless of party registration with no control by partisan organizations over who gets nominated or supported (which would mostly defeat the point of having political parties at all) or (2) have a more proportional system where it is meaningfully possible to create new political parties that gain a nonzero share of representation.

rightbyte | root | parent
How did the "boot on head" guy run in the primaries? There has to be very little vetting, if any.

Primaries where party members vote seems very much more democratic, than having the party elite decide in some meeting.

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monero-xmr | parent | next
The truth is so painful that I’m not sure people will mentally accept this for a while
lpa22 | parent | next
Not sure who is downvoting this, it’s the truth and the exact reason dems lost
ein0p | root | parent
I don't know why you'd expect any other reaction from a site where 80% of the readership loves to get high on their own supply from WaPo and CNN and reject the reality. The reality is we're 37T in debt, we're on the brink of a nuclear war due to our harebrained regime change efforts halfway around the globe, and your average American is barely surviving at this point. The latter, by the way is abundantly clear from the polls, too, including exit polls. I'm not sure the electorate particularly cares about the right to third trimester abortion or DEI as the mainstream media would like us to believe, especially when the DNC lost the airtight control over the narrative, and its ability to manufacture consent is getting more limited by the day. In 2020 they had enough control to elect a person who can't string two words together without a teleprompter. In 2024 they already could not. And the grip on the narrative is going to weaken from here on out. If they can still learn, they'll have to actually run capable candidates, who might even dare to have their own opinions about things. That's healthy and good. What doesn't seem feasible anymore are unilaterally anointed candidates who go from "nobody" to "our only hope" at the stroke of a pen of some unelected, non-replaceable bureaucrat.
bena | parent | next
That's not entirely true. In 2020, a lot of states just cancelled their Republican primaries and pledged their delegates to Trump. Mainly because it's assumed that the incumbent will be the candidate.

And all-in-all, that's fair play. The GOP and DNC are private entities and they get to choose who they put forward as a candidate in the manner they choose. Voting in presidential primaries is fairly recent. The DNC picked Harris, as is their right.