Lurker > Antifar

Joe Biden should run for president in 2024. But if he decides against it for whatever reason, and the Democrats want a serious shot at retaining the White House, Jon Stewart should run on the Democratic ticket instead.

Yes, thats right: Jon Stewart, the TV personality, podcaster, comedian. The 5 7 former host of The Daily Show.

To get the seriousness question out of the way right off the top: Stewarts definition of being an entertainer has him wrestling with the kind of big, serious topics that actual politicians specialize in avoiding. He spends his time recording an AppleTV show and podcast interview show on policy issues such as abortion, climate change, gun control, misinformation, modern monetary theory and other wonky-current topics, with the occasional Judd Apatow and Mark Cuban appearance thrown in for gloss.

So hes clearly engaged enough for the job. But the bigger reason is that hes a better fit than most politicians for what modern politics has become.

The 2024 presidential race is guaranteed to be a carnival, waged 8 years after former President Donald Trump blew up the whole idea of normal, and four years after a Covid-shadowed, conspiracy-fest of a campaign. Stewart is not just one of our most wildly popular comedians: His years hosting the Comedy Centrals Daily Show made him one of the effective communicators in public life. Hes living a fairly low-key existence, and using his multiplatform showbiz skills to advocate for issues he cares about.

Is this a real possibility? Maybe not. But its certainly on peoples minds. You could tell something was in the water at the recent Mark Twain Awards show on PBS. Steve Colbert, Dave Chappelle and Pete Davidson all raised the prospect of Stewart running for the White House in their tributes to Stewart, this years winner of Twain Prize for American Humor. All did so with a requisite punch line, but in watching it you cant help but think they know something the rest of us arent yet in on.
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Trump turned an entertainment careerinto a political one not by growing into the moment, but by dragging politics further into the zone of entertainment. Since then, if anything, hes been one-upped by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a professional comedian and television star who played a president on TV, and, in face of the brutal Russian onslaught, has parlayed that deftly into a real-life role as one of the worlds most admired and effective leaders. Increasingly, being TV-savvy isnt just a bonus for a world leader. Its a core requirement.

A recent very popular Reddit thread also speculated on who should run for president in 2024 and Stewart was widely mentioned. And its clearly a topic Stewart has thought about. He told Kara Swisher this spring, Oh god, how could you not? while joking about seizing the wheel from a drunk driver when asked if he was thinking about running for office. There was humor in his voice when Swisher first broached the topic, but then Stewart settled into seriousness when talking about the fundraising and the absurd mechanics in political campaigns before concluding with: sometimes I feel like I can be more effective on the outside than on the inside. I read sometimes as the operative phrase on the topic. Hes obviously been running the traps on a pivot to politics.

If Stewart ran for president, could he reach a wide swath of Americans? Stewart is known as a liberal, but his biggest cause has been deeply patriotic, and very nonpartisan: He has been the most profoundly effective and powerful engine behind efforts to provide support to the 9/11 first responders and victims. That effort has grown into a fight to provide benefits and supports for U.S. veterans who suffer from exposure to the toxic effects of burn pits while deployed overseas. Hes famous for trying to help firefighters, police and veterans, a generally right-leaning bunch. Thats one hell of a base to run on.

Hes also a truly gifted public speaker who can break down our most complicated political debates into commonsense arguments for effective policy. Watch his 2019 congressional testimony on behalf of 9/11 responders. The 5000-plus comments on the YouTube link to his appearance are near unanimously positive. One commentator said: Every single word measured. Every single sentence short, and to the point. Every point made hit with devastating accuracy. Every sentiment genuinely felt. No bull, no waffle, no attempt at even handedness. Integrity. Passion, articulation. One of the single greatest speeches I have ever heard.

Hes also great at political rallies, as evidenced by his eminently viewable and hilarious Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear held on the National Mall in 2010. An estimated 215,000 people who think shouting is annoying, counterproductive, and terrible for your throat (according to the rally website) turned up to watch Colbert and a range of musicians in what was intended to be a spoof of Glenn Becks Rally to Restore Honor but morphed into a heartfelt call for a more constructive and less vitriolic political dialogue. [Antifar's note: how'd that go? Did it work?]

But perhaps the most important reason for the Democrats to consider Stewart is who hed be running against.

Lets take a look at which Republicans might run in 2024. Trump may run; Stewart has far more TV experience and is plainly much smarter, with more agility before crowds. Trump go-to show of strength has been his ability to pull thousands for his political rallies because they are viewed as entertainment by his supporters. A Stewart rally would be a road show of the most hilarious and civic-minded entertainers known today. And on a debate stage? Stewart would never let Trump get away with his vague policy-thin repetitious platitudes and harangues. Game, set, match. [Antifar's note: debates do not matter.]

Florida Gov. Ron Desantis and former VIce President Mike Pence seem like they are running. Stewart would just wood-chip right through those two stiff-as-a-board speakers.

Theres a very good chance that the most popular, and most dangerous Republican candidate would be Tucker Carlson. Carlson helms the most widely watched primetime show and news reports over the years continue to raise his candidacy as a real possibility. Jonah Goldberg, who worked at the Weekly Standard in the mid-90s with Carlson (I was there too), told Swishers Sway podcast that he thinks Tucker smells the opportunity to be the new Pat Buchanan of the right. And that means running for office at some point. And he would be good as a candidate.

If Carlson does run in 2024, his broad name recognition, demagogic gifts and deep support among Fox viewers could make him the nominee. His years of TV experience would make him a formidable challenge for any Democratic opponent. As a close student and avid fan of Daily Show episodes, I would think that a Tucker Carlson run would be like a red cape waved in front of Stewart. Carlsons bloviating fetishization of nationalist and autocratic tendencies seems like a boil that Stewarts comic umbrage could most effectively lance.
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About the author: Juleanna Glover is CEO of Ridgely|Walsh, a public affairs advisory firm based in D.C. She has advised a wide range of Republican candidates and officials, including Dick Cheney, Rudy Guiliani, Steve Forbes and John Ashcroft.

I think because of the short time between the first post and you bumping it

It was not portrayed as one and is not funny

why bump this?

And then the cops...arrested the victim? O_o

Fuck, we're still using gas in 2050?

The Biden administration considered declaring a public health emergency to preserve broad access to abortion services following the US Supreme Courts decision last month to overturn Roe v. Wade, but officials ultimately decided against the move, according to people familiar with the matter.

The possible declaration was discussed between top officials at the Health and Human Services Department and the White House ahead of a June 28 news conference by Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, the people said. But officials set aside the idea due to concerns the impact wouldnt justify an inevitable legal battle.

At the news conference, Becerra publicly acknowledged the administration had little recourse for people in need of abortions in states that enacted bans.

There is no magic bullet -- but if theres something we can do, we will find it and we will do it, Becerra said.

The people familiar with the matter asked not to be identified because the administrations discussions have been private.

President Joe Biden and his administration have suffered intense criticism from liberal Democrats for their response to the Supreme Courts Roe decision, which eliminated the nationwide right to access abortion. While Biden has said he sympathizes with people denied access to the procedure in states where its outlawed, he has also said theres little he can do unless voters elect more members of Congress who support abortion rights.

Biden on Friday will announce an executive order requiring the health department to compile a report on its actions so far to ensure abortion access.

But progressives have demanded a far more forceful response from the White House. They want aggressive administrative action that would be all but certain to draw court challenges, like providing abortions on federal property, and a stronger push from Biden on Senate Democrats to pass a law legalizing abortion nationwide and even add justices to the Supreme Court.

The president is actively choosing inaction, said Renee Bracey Sherman, founder and executive director of We Testify, an advocacy organization representing people that have had abortions.

Biden has said he would support passage of a law codifying the protections of Roe but that he does not want to expand the court. One administration official said Bidens team is still considering a wide range of options on abortion access, including an emergency declaration.

Becerra said in an interview last week that the administration must move cautiously in the wake of the Supreme Court decision ending Roe.

Anything we do, we know were going to be in court the next day, he said. And so we have to make it stick. Were not going to over-promise because the worst thing you can do is over-promise early.

Had the federal government declared a public health emergency, Becerras department would have gained new powers for an indefinite period. For example, abortion rights advocates say Becerra could have ordered that medication abortion can be prescribed across state lines, or even moved to shield doctors from legal liability for performing abortions in states that outlaw the procedure.

But White House aides and some HHS officials were concerned the declaration wouldnt make a substantial impact, that it might be seen merely as a public relations maneuver and that it would draw lawsuits, according to the people familiar with the matter. Some officials were also concerned that a public health emergency declaration over abortion would take money from Covid-19 programs, which are funded in part under an emergency declaration for the pandemic.
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But abortion rights advocates say the Biden administration should take its chances, given the grave stakes.

There might be risk with some of these ideas, said Morgan Hopkins, interm executive director of campaign and strategies for the advocacy group All Above All. But she added: The urgency of their action needs to meet the urgency of the moment.

Someone said $1 but I swear to God I thought I read it was something like $5.

Prison labor sprung into national consciousness during Californias 2018 wildfire season, where convicts were brought in to help fight fires for $2 a day. NPR reports the use of inmate labor saved the state $100 million a year. (For reference, Zip Recruiter estimates that a non-convict firefighter makes nearly $100 a day, due to the danger and rigors of the job).

Incarcerated workers in California and other states are not classified as employees. They cant get unemployment, sick leave or paid time off. The pay scale is set by state law, with many jobs paying 8 cents an hour and the CALPIA jobs paying more from 35 cents to $1 an hour.

I thought I read that it was something like $5 an hour or $7 an hour or something.

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour; in contrast, most prison jobs pay an average hourly rate of 13 to 52 cents. Deductions for taxes, court costs, and other fees can leave workers with even less. Seventy percent of laborers surveyed in the report said they could not afford basic necessities on their paltry wages. You can barely afford laundry soap with that amount of pay, said an incarcerated laborer in Illinois, who reported earning only $4.80 per month working as a porter. Thats one cent per hour. Some workers are not paid at all, including the majority in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas.

It is rare that a job pays more than a dollar an houreven the incarcerated firefighters braving the flames that rage across Californias forests and hillsides year after year are compensated at $1 an hour.

Sounds like more sense of progression too. Since 5 is wide open from the start it does start to feel like you're just playing map cleanup sometimes

What was special about FH1?