The Banter Brief: Biden Batters Trump, Sloppy Steve Arrested, And An Angry Obama
"Remember seeing those neo-Nazis and Klansmen and white supremacists coming out of the fields with lighted torches? Veins bulging?"
Welcome to this week’s mega edition of The Banter Brief, the greatest roundup of the week that was on the interwebs!
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are enjoying The Banter, try the full, premium version free for 60 days. You’ll get access to twice as much content, be able to read our locked archive, and take part in Member chat threads. The Banter is 100% reader funded. No ads, no spam. Ever.
1. Most Important Story Of The Week
Joe Biden accepts Democratic Nomination
If you haven’t seen Joe Biden’s acceptance speech at the Democratic nomination, do yourself a favor and watch it now. It was perhaps the best speech of Biden’s career, and a huge boost for his supporters who have quietly worried about Biden’s age and energy going into November. Biden speech was powerful, emotive, and drew an absolutely devastating contrast between himself and Donald Trump. Most notably, Biden spoke forcefully about why he decided to run against Trump.
“Remember seeing those neo-Nazis and Klansmen and white supremacists coming out of the fields with lighted torches? Veins bulging? Spewing the same anti-Semitic bile heard across Europe in the '30s?” the former Vice President said.
“Remember the violent clash that ensued between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it? Remember what the president said? There were quote, "very fine people on both sides." It was a wake-up call for us as a country. And for me, a call to action. At that moment, I knew I'd have to run. My father taught us that silence was complicity. And I could not remain silent or complicit. At the time, I said we were in a battle for the soul of this nation. And we are.”
Trump is going to have an extraordinarily hard time competing with Biden’s speech at the GOP convention next week. His campaign team have yet to find a narrative against Biden that sticks, and his 2020 efforts look to be in complete disarray. As NYT poll expert Nate Cohn tweeted:
Biden is defining the contest as a choice between the darkness of the past four years and a new, positive vision of America that is compassionate, innovative, and above all, competent.
“The current president has cloaked America in darkness for much too long — too much anger, too much fear, too much division,” Biden said. “Here and now, I give you my word: If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I will be an ally of the light, not the darkness.”
Hear, hear.
2. Poll Analysis
As of today, FiveThirtyEight’s simulation has Biden winning the Electoral College by a whopping 110 votes:
It is worth noting that some polls show the race is tightening in swing states. This is to be expected as November gets closer, but thus far Biden is maintaining a solid lead that Trump is going to have to work very, very hard to close.
3. Quote Of The Week
“I never expected that my successor would embrace my vision or continue my policies. I did hope, for the sake of our country, that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously, that he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reverence for the democracy that had been placed in his care.
But he never did. For close to four years now, he’s shown no interest in putting in the work; no interest in finding common ground; no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends; no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves.
Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t. And the consequences of that failure are severe: 170,000 Americans dead, millions of jobs gone while those at the top take in more than ever. Our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished and our democratic institutions threatened like never before.”
- President Barack Obama speaking at the Democratic Convention
Read the latest for Banter Members:
I'm Looking Forward To The Hate Coming For Kamala Harris
Why? Because it’s going to come back to bite them right in their miserable racist asses, says Justin Rosario
4. What to Watch
This episode of ‘Last Week Tonight’ with John Oliver broadcast last month, but if you haven’t seen it, please take 20 minutes out of your day to watch it in full. Conspiracy theories have gone into hyperdrive during the Coronavirus pandemic, and they are severely destabilizing society and destroying our ability to respond rationally to what is going on. Oliver brilliantly dissects the most prevalent conspiracy theories du jour, why we’re prone to believe them, and how you can help those who have fallen prey to the toxic nonsense spreading on social media:
5. Good News
Steven Bannon Arrested
Unsurprisingly, Trump’s political guru and architect of his stunning 2016 victory turns out to be a lowlife, thieving scumbag. Steve Bannon, according to the NY Times, was “charged on Thursday with defrauding donors to a private fund-raising effort called We Build the Wall, which was intended to bolster the president’s signature initiative along the Mexican border.”
Bannon, it was reported, was “working with a wounded Air Force veteran and a Florida venture capitalist, conspired to cheat hundreds of thousands of donors by falsely promising that their money had been set aside for new sections of wall, according to a federal indictment unsealed in Manhattan. The fund-raising effort collected more than $25 million, and prosecutors said Mr. Bannon used nearly $1 million of it for personal expenses.”
Of course Bannon is still innocent until proven guilty, but given what we already know about people in Trump’s close orbit, they are highly likely to a) deeply narcissistic, b) a criminal, and c) incredibly greedy. This potent combination means prison time for Bannon is extremely probable.
Have a great weekend!
Enjoying The Banter? Get more with a Banter Membership. Try it free for 60 days and get access to twice as much content and our locked archive:
Read the latest for Banter Members:
Two Conventions, Two Americas, And The Beginning Of A New War
When Trump goes, everyone who resonated with one of the grim aspects of his psyche will be looking for a new demagogue to fawn over, says Ben Cohen
I'm Looking Forward To The Hate Coming For Kamala Harris
Why? Because it’s going to come back to bite them right in their miserable racist asses, says Justin Rosario
The Axis Of Ignorance: My Terrifying Journey Into COVID Conspiracy Land
Q-Anon and New Age Wellness "experts" are peddling in extremely dangerous conspiracy theories that threaten to undermine our response to the Coronavirus. by Ben Cohen
"Have a great weekend!"
Seeing that sketch of Steve Bannon in handcuffs, with the knowledge that he's going to be spending a long, hard time in prison, already made my weekend great! >:D