Trump is winning big with his base, but there’s no sign that he's broadening support - eviltoast
  • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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    10 months ago

    He doesn’t have to broaden support to win. Biden just has to lose support.

    In 2020, Biden won 81,283,501 to 74,223,975.

    But the popular vote doesn’t count.

    What put him over the top were:

    Georgia - 2,473,633 to 2,461,854 = 11,779 votes. Pennsylvania - 3,459,923 to 3,378,263 = 81,660
    Michigan - 2,804,040 to 2,649,852 = 154,188 Wisconsin - 1,630,866 to 1,610,184 = 20,682
    Arizona - 1,672,143 to 1,661,686 = 10,457

    Biden didn’t win by 7,059,526 votes. All those extra votes in places like California and New York didn’t count.

    He won by 278,766 votes in 5 key states. That’s it.

    Now, since we aren’t pushing hard on vote by mail this year, how many voters do you think will disengage and not vote?

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Biden won because of the youth vote, millennials and gen z out numbered boomers and silent generation for the first time.

      But this year he’s only up 4 points in the 18-34 demo.

      It’s fucking insane seeing so many people insisting we can’t talk about these issues while there’s still time to fix it.

      Biden just doesn’t want to actually do things that would get him votes. Even something basic like doing interviews, it’s like the 2024 Biden campaign is just going to be hiding him in a closet while the media talks about how bad trump would be and all of Bidens aides claim he’s a completely different person off camera

      I really don’t think it will be enough this time. And it’s fucking terrifying

      • Kbin_space_program@kbin.social
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        10 months ago

        Just a note that polling of Millenials and younger is known to be wildly inaccurate since we don’t follow traditional news media, so extrapolating a sample to a state or national value is functionally guesswork.

        This is why polling stated Obama wasn’t going to be re-elected and everyone was expecting a big Romney win.

      • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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        10 months ago

        Saying things like “Well, they’re totally different off camera” sank both Dole and Clinton as well.

        Pics or it didn’t happen.

        Add to that the lack of will to do debates…

        • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Neither are doing primary debates, and there’s no way a general debate happens.

          We won’t see either even attempt to answer a difficult question, and they’ll both still fuck up the easy ones.

          • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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            10 months ago

            Biden I get, the sitting President doesn’t have to debate.

            In Trump’s case, he has nothing to gain by it, so that also makes sense.

            Once they lock down the candidacy though, there had better be debates.

            • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              It’s tradition to do 3, last time they only did 2.

              I’d be surprised if they do 1, especially if either of them answer a difficult question.

              So much shit has been thrown out the window already.

      • neidu2@feddit.nl
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        10 months ago

        The same youths who helped him win in 2020 will be needed this year. And I’m not 100% sure that a senile moderate is enticing enough to bring out the required votes, even if the other guy is a senile fascist-wannabe.

        • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Don’t worry. If young people don’t like how Biden is supporting Netanyahu’s genocide and moving to the right on immigration, we can just scream abuse at them until November!

          Now I can already hear you asking “won’t that alienate them and cause them to stay home?” Well, that sounds like something a Russian Chinese tankie Republican shill trumper child moron bot would say.

      • Szymon@lemmy.ca
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        10 months ago

        The game isn’t to be the best person to fix America. The game is not fucking up.

        They tell people what they think online and on tv, you don’t need a debate. The only thing that can happen to old men like Trump and Biden on a debate stage is them fucking up.

        A massive win on stage wouldnt change their base or sway people more than pundits hammering your point eloquently for you, but a fuck up would end them, so they don’t go.

      • limelight79@lemm.ee
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        10 months ago

        Keep in mind that it’s still February. The election is in November. If he did all of that now, the energy it generates would be worn off by then. Hopefully the strategy is to gear up the campaign in summer.

        • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          You’re right…

          Got to remember Biden is 81 years old and isn’t capable of campaigning for a long time…

          Surely nothing bad will happen if he waits till the last minute. And it’s not like being able to work for 7 months is a constitutional requirement to be president.

          /S

          • limelight79@lemm.ee
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            10 months ago

            Even with the /s, this is insane. Campaigning is all about marketing, and timing is critical in marketing. Christ.

            • ryathal@sh.itjust.works
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              10 months ago

              His opponent is currently making appearances while juggling trial dates and is nearly as old. Covid was a good excuse to keep Biden hidden last election, but he’s going to have to be much more visible this time.

            • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              Yes, everyone knows with a capable, young, intelligent, and capable candidate, the trick is to hide them to the last second as a surprise.

              So then hiding Biden has nothing to do with his lack of ability.

              This is totally normal!

              That’s why no one is bothering to talk about the election right now and political stump speeches and advertising doesn’t start till Halloween.

        • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          The unannounced 5 minute part where two celebrities talked about how great he is while he sat there looking at stuff other than the person talking?

          So you haven’t watched it yet?

          He talks about the great agenda he has for 2020, spends most of his time waiting on cues he goes early on, talks about being buddy buddy with the leader of China, and rambles on about how America is the greatest country in the world after saying it’s not.

          Didn’t have any problems with stuttering, but it looked like a video you make with an elderly family member during the holidays to send to everyone that doesn’t visit the nursing home.

          I refuse to believe anyone watches that shit show and came away confident in Biden.

          But yeah, before the post got taken down, I even commented on it how it’s more than I thought we’d get, and also makes sense why his campaign team is hiding him.

    • gmtom@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Which is why you suddenly see all these sockpuppet accounts posting about how bad Biden is.

      • I have to let this out, and your comment was the trigger. Lucky you.

        Three things are pissing me off in this election in particular.

        • Undecideds. There’s supposed to be this huge center (well, 30%) of unaffiliated “undecided” voters. Who TF are these people, who look at the modern Republican party and at Trump, and go: “hmmm. I just don’t know. Do I vote for the bland old guy, or the fascist, philandering, traitorous tax-avoiding old guy who’s under inditement in several states? I just don’t know!”
        • Primaries. Lots of liberals - myself included - are furious with Biden about his support of Israel in this ethnic cleansing. The primaries should be the place where we can express our displeasure, and is almost the only forum we have to exert (generally) direct electoral pressure. But we can’t, because doing so harms Biden’s chances in the general election by sowing discord - c.f. the very relevant Bernie Bros, who refused to vote for Hillary even after Bernie threw in with her.
        • Biden’s cabinet. Whoever is in charge of his PR is doing a shit job. I learn more on Lemmy about Biden’s accomplishments than I do in the general news. Biden’s doing a good job in many areas, but Joe Public doesn’t know because Biden’s PR staff have their heads up their asses.

        It’s utterly insane; the electoral college needs to be dumped, there’s no doubt about that, and adoption of approval voting, or ranked choice – almost anything would be better. But even with these issues, the US managed to work for 200 years, until the past few election cycles, and it’s just gotten insane.

        • Daft_ish@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          I’m annoyed the primaries are a foot note in both parties. I know Trump has the gop by the balls but damn.

          Biden camp is running the same playbook from 2020. Lay low and hope Trump pisses off more people than Biden does.

          Honestly it must be why the GOP keep pushing the genocide joe narrative. Joe won’t give them a noose so they are fishing for liberal issues they don’t give a shit about hoping his own base will turn on him. Sucks to be the GOP though because how do you pivot from that?

          Politics is disgusting and Dems seem to think defense is the only way. For me, it’s a shit way to play the game and all it does is run out the clock.

            • Daft_ish@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              It only seems that way because dems have no balls. I hate the fact the gop latched onto trump but it paid off for them many times over. Was it a risky strategy? I’d say so but in the end it was the old way of doing things that was sure to cost the gop.

        • Makeitstop@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          The undecideds are people who aren’t paying attention. It’s easy to not be sure who you’ll vote for when your opinion is based on whatever stray bits of politics pop up around you despite your best efforts to remain ignorant. And those people are just as likely to run into lies and propaganda, but won’t have the knowledge required to spot the inaccuracies.

      • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        The problem is, I don’t believe they are all sock puppets. It would be foolish to think that people on the left aren’t as susceptible to disinfo as people on the right. Plus the complaints are totally valid. Biden is too old, he is supporting Israel’s genocide, he is just barely a centrist, and he will just enable the status quo instead of affecting real positive change in the country. What’s at stake is much more dire. I’m willing to wait another 4 years to try again for a more progressive candidate rather than gamble now on a less than 1% chance of a slightly better candidate and a 99% chance of trump and the likely end of free and fair elections.

    • GiddyGap@lemm.eeOP
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      10 months ago

      All true. In the US, you don’t have to win a majority to win the election.

      But I highly doubt that Democrats are going to sit this one out.

      And if they just show up to the same degree as in 2020, Trump still needs to broaden support in the key swing states to actually win them. If he’s not doing it nationally, chances are he’s not doing it in the battlegrounds.

      • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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        10 months ago

        Without vote by mail, they won’t show up to the same degree. Trump’s vote was driven by in person votes, Biden by vote by mail.

        That’s not going to be true this year. And like I showed, the margins in those key states is super slim.

        Georgia - Trump +6 to +9
        https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/georgia/

        Pennsylvania - Trump +2 to +5
        https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/pennsylvania/

        Michigan - Trump +2 to +3
        https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/michigan/

        Wisconsin - Trump +2 to +3
        https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/wisconsin/

        Arizona - Trump +3 to +6
        https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/arizona/

        Biden can’t win without these states and if the election were today?

        • MagicShel@programming.dev
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          10 months ago

          Whatever the polls say, do you have any idea what a mess the GOP in Michigan is? We’re having a primary and two competing caucuses because we have two heads of the state party and they are bankrupt. There is a lawsuit to sell their headquarters to pay their bills. And we came out for abortion rights big time in 22, which Republicans continue to shoot themselves in the fucking head with.

          There is zero ground game. I can’t believe it’s even possible for Trump to win here, polls be damned.

          • CaptainSpaceman@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Michigan became a wierd place last week.

            On top of GOP issues, a few dems started fighting against biden for the primary

            GOP sinking means MI probably turns blue, right?

            • MagicShel@programming.dev
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              10 months ago

              Biden win here in 2020. Democrats took full control of state government in 22 for the first time since 1983. Arguably the biggest failure of the “red wave.”

              Will that hold? I don’t know but while there are pockets of strong support for Trump, we don’t seem to like his endorsed candidates one bit. Given their disarray, I don’t see a path to victory for them. But we do have a very large Muslim population which is currently upset with Biden, so it’s not all roses.

          • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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            10 months ago

            I’ve been watching and it’s absolutely hilarious, none of which is going to impact the general election.

            • MagicShel@programming.dev
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              10 months ago

              If none of it matters in the general then nothing matters. Money doesn’t matter. Organization and unity don’t matter. I’m not an expert, but I just don’t believe you are correct. For decades I’ve heard how important ground game is. Heard Hillary’s (among others) loss blamed on it.

              I just don’t see how that can be right.

              • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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                10 months ago

                Hillary didn’t just lose because of a lack of “ground game” she lost because of instead of campaigning in states she needed to win, she did a victory lap and only went to states she was already locked in to win.

                She took winning for granted and only cared about beating Obama’s vote, because she still held a grudge.

                • frezik@midwest.social
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                  10 months ago

                  Hillary didn’t just lose because of a lack of “ground game” she lost because of instead of campaigning in states she needed to win, she did a victory lap and only went to states she was already locked in to win.

                  That’s another way of saying “lack of ground game”.

                • MagicShel@programming.dev
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                  10 months ago

                  The other responder is correct. This is exactly what I was referring to. Why split hairs between a failure of the local party and self-sabotage resulting in no ground game?

        • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          It’s neat how we kept DeJoy in charge at the post office after his fuckery in the last election.

        • mommykink@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          it’s still too early to call bro polls aren’t accurate this far from November bro

          • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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            10 months ago

            They are when you track them over time. In each of these states, support for Trump is growing, not shrinking.

            • GiddyGap@lemm.eeOP
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              10 months ago

              Maybe, maybe not. You sound very confident in Trump. I’m not.

              Sure, there’s a risk Trump will somehow pull out a win in the electoral college. But I don’t think he’s the favorite by any stretch of the imagination.

              • fluxion@lemmy.world
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                10 months ago

                Assume he is and act accordingly. Otherwise we’ll ll have the the rest of our lives to regret it.

              • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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                10 months ago

                Well, I’ve been following the polling in these states for several months now and I’ve watched them go from 1/2 Biden 1/2 Trump, to all Trump by a couple of points, to all Trump by 5 to 6 points.

                The momentum is definitely with Trump at this point.

                Can he maintain it? Dunno.

                • GiddyGap@lemm.eeOP
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                  10 months ago

                  Dude, we’ve all been watching. And everyone knows that it’s going to be close. It always is. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to predict that. It’s also way too early to conclude anything from polling.

      • Kbin_space_program@kbin.social
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        10 months ago

        Depends if the Democratic leadership decides to go for we can totally flip Texas for reals this time AGAIN. Ignoring all of the increasingly purple formerly hard blue states in the rust belt.

      • agentsquirrel@sh.itjust.works
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        10 months ago

        But I highly doubt that Democrats are going to sit this one out.

        I sense there are a lot of young progressives screaming about “genocide” in Gaza who are going to sit it out, not able to grasp the big picture.

          • agentsquirrel@sh.itjust.works
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            10 months ago

            It’s questionable whether what is happening in Gaza is genocide from a legal perspective. Regardless, being concerned with Gaza but sitting out this election and not voting is asinine. Biden may not being doing enough to help stop the humanitarian crisis and him in office may not save any lives in Gaza, but I can guarantee Trump in office will get more people killed. Trump will happily use US military resources to flatten Gaza, and brag about it. Claims that Biden is facilitating or supporting genocide in Gaza ultimately benefits Trump and will doom the Gazan Palestinians if Trump gets in office.

            • porous_grey_matter@lemmy.ml
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              10 months ago

              questionable whether what is happening in Gaza is genocide from a legal perspective

              Firstly, no it isn’t. Secondly, resorting to “a legal perspective” so that you can choose the specific definition that makes it technically kinda not qualify if you squint hard enough is a really shitty, bad faith debate tactic. The stated wishes and goals of average, mainstream Israelis is to kill all Palestinians, burn Gaza to the ground, and take it over. That’s genocide, plain and simple.

              • agentsquirrel@sh.itjust.works
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                10 months ago

                I’m not a legal expert and I doubt you are as well, but if you search the 'net there are plenty of articles from respectable news sources covering debates and discussions over whether it’s legally genocide or not. I’m not going to debate it with you; I’ll leave it up to those who are qualified to determine if it is truly genocide, and pursue war crimes charges as necessary. I never said it was morally correct what Israel is doing. The morality or lack thereof of their actions is separate from the legal definition of genocide. Furthermore, and quite ironically, the 1988 Hamas Charter specifically states as a goal to obliterate Israel in language that rhymes with genocide. While it certainly doesn’t justify what Israel is doing right now, Hamas would be doing the same to Israel right now if it was within their capabilities. Israel could have taken over Gaza long ago, if it really wanted to do it. What’s going on right now in Gaza is the result of Hamas launching an offensive with no strategic or worthy goals, against an enemy they knew they had no chance of winning against. It’s a pretty good assumption that some portion of the cries of genocide are the result of foreign propaganda to both garner support for Hamas and the continuing disruption and outside influence of US politics.

                • porous_grey_matter@lemmy.ml
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                  10 months ago

                  not a legal expert and I doubt you are as well, but if you search the 'net there are plenty of articles from respectable news sources covering debates and discussions over whether it’s legally genocide or not. I’m not going to debate it with you; I’ll leave it up to those who are qualified to determine if it is truly genocide, and pursue war crimes charges as necessary. I

                  That’s exactly my point. The “legal definition”, if for some reason it doesn’t apply, is just an excuse to avoid confronting the atrocities we are complicit in committing. If the “legal definition” isn’t met, then it’s simply wrong. Some court case isn’t what determines whether it’s “truly genocide”, it’s that Israel, with our support, is and has been trying for decades to eradicate an entire people and culture.

                  a pretty good assumption that some portion of the cries of genocide are the result of foreign propaganda to both garner support for Hamas and the continuing disruption and outside influence of US politics.

                  I do agree with this, and it’s really unfortunate. But yeah, if I was Hamas I would use the fact that Gazans are being genocided to drum up support too, it’s a pretty good argument. To avoid creating a situation where Hamas looks like the good guys, I think the best thing to do would be to, you know, stop murdering Palestinian children.

    • nexguy@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Don’t forget that the ROC had a catastrophic midterm. Also Jan 6th and Roe/Wade were no jokes and will continue to not be joking.

    • GladiusB@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      It’s also February. November is coming but alot can change and people can decide to vote after summer. Most people think it’s a decision that can be made later.

    • RagingRobot@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Most of those votes weren’t for Biden though they were against trump. Trump is still trump last I checked so I will vote against him again and hope for the best

  • sylver_dragon@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Considering current polling, his current level of support is terrifyingly close to enough. If we don’t want to face down four more years of Trump, Biden really needs a lot better campaigning than, “I’m not that guy.” Sure, it’s still early and the predictive power of polls at this stage isn’t fantastic. But, it seems like a bad place to be starting from.

    • MsPenguinette@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Every single day Biden continues to support genocide, the closer I get to not being able to vote for him. Among my friends, I’m the most harm reductionist telling people that when election day comes, we have to do what’s best with the choice we have. But I’m starting to become viscerally disgusted at the idea of voting for Biden

      • geekwithsoul@lemm.ee
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        10 months ago

        And by not voting for Biden, how do you expect the issue you care about is going to be addressed by a Trump administration? I’m in my 50s and have never been a fan of Joe Biden or most of the “centrist” Democratic Party - but you can sure as hell believe I’ll be casting a vote for him in November.

        • MsPenguinette@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          I don’t know man. I’m the one who makes this argument. I’ll probably still vote Biden on election day, but I want to vomit at the thought of him after seeing him support this.

          It’s one thing when he is just useless at getting actual shit done. “Nothing will substantially change” is one thing. But if I’m starting to break down on this, then that makes me scared that we are truly fucked

          Worst part is that Biden trusts that he can do whatever he wants with supporting genocide because Trump is his opponent. It’s an extra ‘fuck you’ to all of us.

          • cmbabul@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            I’m 100% voting for Biden, as Trump will both destroy US democracy and put the final nail into our species dystopian coffin with both climate change and the further empowerment of the rich. But we may be fucked in the sense that I think Biden is too unpopular in a vacuum(as in separate from Trump) for most voters to get the numbers out. I deeply hope that I am wrong but each thing he does that is semi divisive, let alone everything involving Israel, it gets harder for me to believe he has the ability to engender any enthusiasm for him

            • MsPenguinette@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              I’ve gone from being unenthusiastic about Biden to actively hating/despising him. To be clear, there is absolutely no world in which I will despise him less than trump. It’s one thing to try to get people enthused, it’s another when you have to bank on fear of the worse guy.

              If he had looked the other way for just a month or two, that’d still be bad but at least we could be like “well it was a complicated situation but he made the right decision”. It’s almost March and it was already an undeniable and unbearable tragedy by Halloween of last year. I think we extremely close to the point of no return.

              • cmbabul@lemmy.world
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                10 months ago

                I feel that, election is still a long ways off and all kinds of crazy bullshit is bound to happen, but my confidence in his electability is not high. As much as I dread it I’m mentally preparing myself for the worst case scenario.

                Jesus even if Biden kicked the bucket, which I’m not hoping for but it is a very real possibility, Kamala doesn’t give me any more peace of mind. Trump stroking out would give me some brief respite but I think Haley would kick the shit out of Biden purely by not being him or Trump, and the GOP would still push most of their insane agenda through if they can.

                Things do not look good from my perspective, and I used to be an idealist

                • MsPenguinette@lemmy.world
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                  10 months ago

                  I thought about mentioning that old age taking it course sooner than later would be good, but didn’t want to go that far. But it’s wild to think about what would happen if either (or heaven permits, both) were to do what old people do. There is part of me that hopes for it, but Harris as the main president candidate would not be a fun scenario. Right wing discourse would manage to become an even more vile sewage ditch than it is now.

          • laverabe@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            In politics you pick and choose your battles. Biden is a needed stepping stone to get a true progressive in 2028. After 8 years of Obama we almost elected Bernie if it wasn’t for the corruption that happened in the primary process. 2028 is the year of progressives.

      • ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Trump will fucking nuke Gaza if given the chance. He also wants domestic concentration camps. Don’t you think for a second there is any comparison between the two. Trump is a monster.

        • MsPenguinette@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          I’ll die before voting for Trump (I’m trans so Trump winning well be extremely bad for me). But I’m so discouraged right now that i don’t know what to do

          [edit] changed a sentence

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            10 months ago

            At the very least, you can take some solace knowing that Biden winning means less dead civilians in Gaza than if Trump had won. I don’t think this is even arguable. If Gaza is your issue and you absolutely have to vote based on that issue, voting for Biden is clearly the correct decision. It might not feel great, but Trump will not prevent a single death that Biden has the power to stop. He’ll accelerate the process.

          • fluxion@lemmy.world
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            Not voting for Trump will buy you no relief when he destroys this country. And he’ll still support Israel’s genocide on top of it. I withheld my vote in support of the progressive movement under Bernie. The effect was the reverse. We all want better, but we need to stop the bleeding first. If democracy falters we likely won’t see it again within our lifetimes. Xi, Putin, Kim, they are nothing compared to a dictator with the economic/military backing of the US economy.

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        10 months ago

        This is like saying you’re not going to vote for Biden because he’s white. Or old. Or a capitalist. So is the other guy. There isn’t another viable option. Trump has just as bad, if not a worse stance on Palestine, even provoking further conflict by moving the embassy during his tenure. You can’t expect any US president to go to war with one of our only two legitimate allies in the region, but Biden’s at least trying to broker a ceasefire for hostages.

        • DarkNightoftheSoul@mander.xyz
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          There’s another option. We’re just scared to break the glass on the emergency switch. I don’t blame you. It is scary.

          Stop pretending “bad” and “worse” are our only options. If we wait too long it will be too late.

        • MsPenguinette@lemmy.world
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          Oh? That’s news to me.

          I blow off steam one time about being completly dishearted about the government and Biden after watching a video of a service member lighting themselves on fire and yelling free Palestine and I’m a sock puppet? I get it that some people are able to compartmentalize what Biden is doing right now and the criticality of keeping Trump out of office. But I wasn’t able to yesterday when I was still reeling. I wanted to truly appreciate Aaron Bushnell’s sacrifice, and with that, I did my best to let myself feel the true gravity of the genocide in Israel. Feeling the full weight of it, I feel angry, sad, dishearted, overwhelmed, grief and disgusted.

          I’m feeling better today. if the election was yesterday, I’d have abstained. If it were tomorrow, I’d probably still vote blue no matter who.

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    10 months ago

    We can only hope the people who said they wouldn’t vote for him, due to having various final judgments against him, will have the conviction to hold to that claim.

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      10 months ago

      Republicans will vote for him as long as he is the nominee, just like the last two elections.

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    10 months ago

    It will be people (in a few key states) who refuse to vote for Biden due to purity testing or vote third party who put him in office if it happens.

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      10 months ago

      That is how basically every election has worked for 30+ years. About 40% of people lean republican, 40% democrat, and 20% independent. Campaigns are mostly about getting 100% of your 40% to vote than winning independents or opponents.

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        Way less people are Republican, but only in pure numbers, which doesn’t mean shit when you use the Electoral College (or have 2 senators per state regardless of population, for that matter). The only voters who actually matter for presidents are in the 5 or so states that don’t always go red or blue.

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    10 months ago

    We already hit the point decades ago where GOP can’t win a federal election without anti democratic institutions like gerrymandering and the electoral college. It needs to be replaced with something actually functional in leading government in policy supporting constituents to compete with DNC. I detest political parties, but the only thing worse than many parties is one party.

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    10 months ago

    We’re in an era of populism and people are still trying to use the 2000s era to predict today.

    He doesn’t need to wide. his base, he just needs to motivate them. He need to to get more people excited about voting for him than Biden does those excited to vote Biden.

    It’s about turnout and driving a base. He’s wiping the floor with Biden right now in the polls. No one is excited to vote Biden. It’s not clear to me he even has a base. Instead taking heads are just trying to browbeat any one left of center into supporting Biden. It won’t work at scale. Bidens got to do his own work there, because it’s not currently Trump in office, it’s Biden. Always harder for an incumbent, especially one who has become deeply unpopular with the coalition of voters that out him into office. No amount of blue no matter who is going to fix Biden as a candidate. Only Biden can do that.

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      Biden and the DNC know that

      It’s just what excites voters pisses off big money donors. And they picked the side neoliberals are always going to pick.

      And they’re hoping the threat of trump is enough to scare the serfs into line.

      From a psychology perspective, it’s a horrible plan. Especially after it has a 50% success rate in the last two elections. 2024 is a coin flip, and it’s only because we’re using trump as an excuse to run someone who’s first presidential primary was 2 generations ago.

      Seriously. A person born the year of Bidens first primary could safely be a grandparent for this one. In some red states, a great grandparent already.

      He’s never been a popular candidate, just had the luck of getting the primary handed to him and getting to face the literal worst president we’ve ever had the general.

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            10 months ago

            But corporations are people, my friend, and people have freedom of speech! and oh look, would you look here, money is speech … ugh this country is a farce.

            • laverabe@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              A light blue “flawed democracy” is a more accurate description. Whereas Russia is a dark red authoritarian regime.

              Things are rough in the US but they could get worse. Or better. It depends on whether or not people vote in every single election. Apathy breeds authoritarian regimes. Saying the country is a farce breeds apathy.

              https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Economist_Democracy_Index

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                10 months ago

                I say it to remind people that ALL of those currently in power are incapable. A light blue Democracy is exactly what has allowed a fascist rise. By leaving these clowns in positions of power, the country DOES become a farce.

                If your response to hearing your country is slipping away from anything good is apathy, that very much sounds like a you problem.

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            10 months ago

            We have to beat the system to change the system. And if we ever do, will the motivation still be there to change it?

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        10 months ago

        Mean while, blue no matter who out here downvoting like this isn’t the case.

        Blue no matter who has proven to be a failed strategy in that it leaves you with weak indefensible candidates in competitive elections.

        Were probably going to get Trump, and it will be 💯 due to Democrats and the Blue No Matter Who coalition. But just like Hillarys shocking arrogance in 2016, these ass holes will yet again fail to understand that they themselves are the problem.

          • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            Hillary Clinton, was and is, one of the most singularly arrogant politicians to have ever existed.

            She opted out of campaigning in the entirety of the rust belt, because it was ‘her turn’.

            She viewed voters as obligated in voting for her. She was wrong. Dead wrong.

        • HopeOfTheGunblade@kbin.social
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          10 months ago

          I feel like the people who go out to vote for the blue candidate have less to do with the red candidate winning, than the people who have more in common with the goals and outcomes of the blue candidate but get in a snit because they weren’t personally campaigned to, or the blue candidate didn’t handle an issue exactly the way they wanted, or wasn’t the candidate they wanted to vote for.

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    10 months ago

    I already know three people that said they are not voting. THREE, imagine how that translates to the wider population

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        10 months ago

        CRAZY RIGHT. But seriously, three people that I personally know voted for Biden in 2020, now are thinking about not voting? That’s a lot. It’s also who these people are that gets me, they are your run of the mill city democrats. Not terminally online Twitter followers eating antibiden propaganda.

        • laverabe@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          I mean your sample is not really representative of the entire US population, so who knows what’s going to happen. I personally know no one who is not going to vote because, that would just be stupid to not participate in the democratic process.

          A person’s opinion does not matter if they do not vote, at least to those in power. 200 million people could not vote ‘in protest’. Doesn’t matter. Just means it’s that much easier for a bad candidate to take power and gain more control of the executive, legislative, and judical branches of govt that controls many aspects of our lives.

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            10 months ago

            But what are the chances that one person hangs out with three people who have similar opinions? Sounds impossible if you ask me.

        • GiddyGap@lemm.eeOP
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          10 months ago

          On the other hand, there are a lot of Republicans, especially moderates and Republican-leaning independents, who are not going to go vote for Trump if he’s the nominee.

          Yeah, believe it or not, there are moderate Republicans.

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              10 months ago

              People remember Trump and his presidency and the chaos and January 6 and Roe and IVF and much else. If he ends up as the Republican nominee, Democrats and independents won’t be complacent.

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      Honestly, as the way things are, it doesn’t matter, we’re still doomed. Even if the asshole karks it from one too many hamburgers tomorrow, still doomed.

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      I doubt it, the moron killed his own demos with his own policy in 2020. Democrats have over performed every special election since then. Biden now has incumbency as well. It’ll be tighter than it should be, but I bet trump does does worse than he did in 2020

      • octopus_ink@lemmy.ml
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        I mean, maybe. But the impact on R votes was fairly small when considering the electoral college, and while Biden has the incumbency he also has a genocide being performed by an “ally” we don’t seem willing to stop selling arms to, and he can’t seem to find any but the mildest language to begrudgingly indicate that maybe this might not be 100% exactly precisely something he can really support on the part of Israel - not that he’s prepared to take any action mind you, but just if anyone is listening he wants people to know this doesn’t fill him with joy.

        I’m gonna vote for Biden. But he’s not doing himself any favors, and the fact that I’d die rather than vote for Trump, and Republicans on the whole are dead to me now, are the reasons he’s getting my vote. Not enthusiasm for Biden or because he’s the incumbent. Police reform? Forgotten. MJ rescheduling? Token platitudes. Student Loans? Glad he did something, but happier if he did more. Probably not going to offset the “young people angry about Gaza” contingent. Etc.

        In 2022 Israel wasn’t razing Gaza one hospital at a time while we stood by without so much as wringing our hands. That’s gonna change the votes of some folks. The only question is how many.

  • Lauchs@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Dubious methodology says trump in trouble -> upvote

    Dubious methodology says Biden in trouble -> downvote to oblivion.

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    10 months ago

    He needs them to grift. They buy everything he shit out, his nfts, his shoes, his go-fund-me, campaign donations. They fund him.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    10 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump appears close to invincible in the Republican primaries and caucuses, but despite his commanding victories, the front-runner’s strength among general election voters remains unclear.

    It also highlights a Republican party that has made an about-face on central policy issues, favoring some big government programs and retreating from commitments abroad.

    So far, almost all of Trump’s backing has come from white voters, who made up the vast majority of the electorate in the first few head-to-head Republican contests — even in diverse South Carolina.

    Trump also maintained high levels of support with evangelical Christians and people living in small towns and rural areas, groups that have significant weight within Republican primaries but comprise a smaller share of the general electorate.

    Instead, Republican primary voters strongly support domestic policies that require significant government investment, like maintaining the current age of 67 for Social Security eligibility and building a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

    In the lead-up to the primaries, Republican candidates clashed over these issues, testing whether long-held GOP positions like shrinking the size of entitlement programs and taking a strong hand in foreign conflicts still resonate with the party’s base.


    The original article contains 960 words, the summary contains 196 words. Saved 80%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • orcrist@lemm.ee
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    10 months ago

    It also highlights a Republican party that has made an about-face on central policy issues, favoring some big government programs and retreating from commitments abroad.

    That’s a strange take on history. Of course many Republican politicains have said “focus on the homeland” or whatever while voting for wars, so the stated positions aren’t really changing, and I don’t imagine that Trump would be anti-war anyway. And big government is also a Republican thing. I can point to specific examples, but we all know about them, so why bother?

    Anyway, it’s hard for politics writers, no doubt, but this is basic historical knowledge. They can do better.

  • Philo@lemmy.zip
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    10 months ago

    Am I seeing things in that picture or is Trump raising a clenched fist a la Huey Newton and the Black Power movement? Boy is his base gonna have a hell of a stroke,