2024 U.S. Elections

[Chumpsbechumps]

That's not how it works unfortunately since post-Soviet Russia is also an authoritarian nation with a desire to reclaim and control previously held Soviet territory. Therefore the existence of NATO is completely justified. Once Putin dies and (hopefully) Russia stops being a predatory autocracy, then the need for NATO will gradually dissipate and European countries can then go back to no longer requiring collective security, and deal with specific conflicts on a one-on-one basis. Until then, NATO will continue to play a critical role of ensuring Europe free and democratic.

Part of the issue is that the generation who understood why NATO was interval to maintaining security of democracy, are all but gone. World war 2 is history and lessons of the past are forgotten.

Our history is littered with humans not learning from past mistakes , looks like we are walking into another war, self inflicted really with this ridiculous trend of propping up populist sh*theads who are so dangerous it’s not funny.

I still can’t get over the damage Trump has done and will do if he gets back in.

With regards to Putin, nothing he says is reliable or trustworthy. He’s a dictator ruling over an imagined empire that doesn’t exist so he’s trying to re-establish one. In many ways with dictators it’s not about the threat to the country, it’s the threat to their own position that drives their motives.

Mistakes were made by the west and in some ways Russia was forgotten and left to end up as it is. We have played a role in where we are with many things going wrong. But NATO expanding is no excuse for invading Ukraine.

 

[Chumpsbechumps]

Anybody looking at the odds on the election? I can’t understand it.

Trump 6/5
Biden 14/5
Obama 9/1

Winning party
Democrats 6/5
Republicans 9/10

There’s money to be made by somebody more clever than me. Do the markets think Trump could drop out (legal cases) or is it all about maybe Biden dropping out and Obama jumping in?

If Biden is the candidate, how can he personally be so far out individually but his party are nearly evens?

 

[Mike Smalling]

Anybody looking at the odds on the election? I can’t understand it.

Trump 6/5
Biden 14/5
Obama 9/1

Winning party
Democrats 6/5
Republicans 9/10

There’s money to be made by somebody more clever than me. Do the markets think Trump could drop out (legal cases) or is it all about maybe Biden dropping out and Obama jumping in?

If Biden is the candidate, how can he personally be so far out individually but his party are nearly evens?

Michelle Obama running for President is no more than a Republican fever dream. She has said repeatedly that she won't, and she's never held public office.

 

[Chumpsbechumps]

Michelle Obama running for President is no more than a Republican fever dream. She has said repeatedly that she won't, and she's never held public office.

Neither had Trump any political experience. I don’t think that’s an issue in anyway. I think if either party had a different candidate, anybody , they’d win.

If Biden keeps polling so bad and making gaffs, she’d be perfect candidate.

 

[Mike Smalling]

Neither had Trump any political experience. I don’t think that’s an issue in anyway. I think if either party had a different candidate, anybody , they’d win.

If Biden keeps polling so bad and making gaffs, she’d be perfect candidate.

No, that's extremely dumb. Just because she was a popular first lady, doesn't mean she'd be a good candidate. She is also famously private and did not like the scrutiny that came with her husbands political career. She wouldn't be a good candidate, because she doesn't want to be president. It's that simple.

 

[Beachryan]

It fascinates me how most of the comments on here are about Biden making another gaff, in a week where:
1. The GOP received everything and more it asked for in a bipartisan border/foreign aid deal, and then refused to vote on it because Trump told them not to
2. Failed to even get the votes in the house to randomly use impeachment to do...something on immigration. And failed because they'd banked on a democrat being in surgery. And admitted that.
3. Numerous GOP members have come out and said they will not work on border security - the number 1 issue in America - for the rest of the year in case it helps Biden win.
4. Trump had a ridiculous immunity argument slapped down savagely by a district court
5. Trump said 10 crazier things and it doesn't even raise an eyebrow, including his great friend Orban the President of Turkey.

The asymmetry is staggering, but feels about where the media is pitching these days. Scum, the lot, and the world eats it up and misses the actual stories.

 

[Chumpsbechumps]

No, that's extremely dumb. Just because she was a popular first lady, doesn't mean she'd be a good candidate. She is also famously private and did not like the scrutiny that came with her husbands political career. She wouldn't be a good candidate, because she doesn't want to be president. It's that simple.

The dumbest thing anybody could do is presume anything’s a given at this stage.

 

[Chumpsbechumps]

It fascinates me how most of the comments on here are about Biden making another gaff, in a week where:
1. The GOP received everything and more it asked for in a bipartisan border/foreign aid deal, and then refused to vote on it because Trump told them not to
2. Failed to even get the votes in the house to randomly use impeachment to do...something on immigration. And failed because they'd banked on a democrat being in surgery. And admitted that.
3. Numerous GOP members have come out and said they will not work on border security - the number 1 issue in America - for the rest of the year in case it helps Biden win.
4. Trump had a ridiculous immunity argument slapped down savagely by a district court
5. Trump said 10 crazier things and it doesn't even raise an eyebrow, including his great friend Orban the President of Turkey.

The asymmetry is staggering, but feels about where the media is pitching these days. Scum, the lot, and the world eats it up and misses the actual stories.

That’s what worries me. It doesn’t seem to matter what Trump does, if Biden does anything remotely off, it seems to resonate more.

I mean the American economy is booming, but you wouldn’t know it looking at the narratives. It’s just nuts.

 

[Iker Quesadillas]

It fascinates me how most of the comments on here are about Biden making another gaff, in a week where:
5. Trump said 10 crazier things and it doesn't even raise an eyebrow, including his great friend Orban the President of Turkey.
The asymmetry is staggering, but feels about where the media is pitching these days. Scum, the lot, and the world eats it up and misses the actual stories.

Trump called Orban "the president of Turkey" in October of 2023.

The story has been resurfaced today, by Republicans Against Trump, specifically in response to the Biden story about the classified documents.

You "ate it up."

 

[Mike Smalling]

The dumbest thing anybody could do is presume anything’s a given at this stage.

Again, really, really dumb. There are certain things you can easily rule out. Michelle Obama becoming president is one of them.

 

[pacifictheme]

That’s what worries me. It doesn’t seem to matter what Trump does, if Biden does anything remotely off, it seems to resonate more.

I mean the American economy is booming, but you wouldn’t know it looking at the narratives. It’s just nuts.

It is the same in the UK. Starmer is under way more scrutiny than the Tory's. Maybe it's because we are xpect better of them than their opposition? Even so, we shouldn't get desensitised to how bad the opposition is.

 

[Chumpsbechumps]

Again, really, really dumb. There are certain things you can easily rule out. Michelle Obama becoming president is one of them.

Do dumb people know they are dumb? Asking for a friend

 

[Beachryan]

Trump called Orban "the president of Turkey" in October of 2023.

The story has been resurfaced today, by Republicans Against Trump, specifically in response to the Biden story about the classified documents.

You "ate it up."

Apologies, you got me there. My other points are clearly null and void. Good gotcha-ing though!

I'll ammend to Trump saying this week that Nancy Pelosi was in fact responsible for the insurrection on Jan 6th. Which he also said was not an insurrection. And that follows from last week when he blamed Nikki Haley for it, when he meant the very similar Nancy Pelosi. The point being Trump says 10 things a day taht are worse than Biden saying Mexico instead of Egypt, but you'd have no idea in how the media handle things.

 

[Chumpsbechumps]

It is the same in the UK. Starmer is under way more scrutiny than the Tory's. Maybe it's because we are xpect better of them than their opposition? Even so, we shouldn't get desensitised to how bad the opposition is.

Do you think the UK is through its populist catastrophe or is it still kind of stuck in it?

Don’t know how Brexit is viewed in here but that was some own goal by the UK. Still can’t get over it 8 years on.

 

[Mike Smalling]

Do dumb people know they are dumb? Asking for a friend

You definitely seem to be struggling coming to terms with it.

 

[pacifictheme]

Do you think the UK is through its populist catastrophe or is it still kind of stuck in it?

Don’t know how Brexit is viewed in here but that was some own goal by the UK. Still can’t get over it 8 years on.

Despite what Boris used to say Brexit is still not done and likely never really will be. and in my opinion we are nowhere near done with our populist catastrophe.

 

[Iker Quesadillas]

Apologies, you got me there. My other points are clearly null and void. Good gotcha-ing though!

I don't think your other points are very strong.

These repeated instances of Biden using the wrong names aren't "gaffes", they are (or at least appear to be) evidence of his age and decreasing capability, especially paired with the special counsel report.

Biden's age and capability are a big deal. He is objectively a very old man. He would be 82 years old when his next term begins. Voters think he is too old. A poll from August showed that 77% of voters and 69% of Democrats thought he was too old. A poll from October showed that 76% of voters and 56% of Democrats thought he was too old. A poll from a few days ago showed that 62% of voters have major concerns about his age. His age and capability has always been a problem. People were talking about him running as a one-term president due to his age all the way back in 2019.

Voters aren't wrong about this, the president being incompetent is a massive problem. You have to be extremely partisan or extremely anti-Trump to accept the rationale that "his unelected staff will run the show."

 

[Chumpsbechumps]

You definitely seem to be struggling coming to terms with it.

I have 4 chickens and one dog. None of them agree with you on this.

 

[slyadams]

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us...dling-classified-documents-source-2024-02-08/

The report into Joe Biden's handling of confidental documents is politically devastating, the special counsel refers to Biden as "a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory".

There was a time a year or so ago when I didn't think Trump would be able to regain the presidency, I thought we'd go around the same cycle as we did in 2020 and then record turnouts would keep him out. However, last time Biden had things he doesn't have now:

• An immediate memory of 4 years of Trump doing Trump things
• An active pandemic where Trump was actively saying stupid shit almost daily
• The image of a man who had been a two term Vice President under Obama, whereas now he's seen doddery, forgetful, prone to gaffs etc.

Add to that it sounds like his campaigning is going to be based from the White House, I just cannot see it working.

 

[Chumpsbechumps]

I don't think your other points are very strong.

These repeated instances of Biden using the wrong names aren't "gaffes", they are (or at least appear to be) evidence of his age and decreasing capability, especially paired with the special counsel report.

Biden's age and capability are a big deal. He is objectively a very old man. He would be 82 years old when his next term begins. Voters think he is too old. A poll from August showed that 77% of voters and 69% of Democrats thought he was too old. A poll from October showed that 76% of voters and 56% of Democrats thought he was too old. A poll from a few days ago showed that 62% of voters have major concerns about his age. His age and capability has always been a problem. People were talking about him running as a one-term president due to his age all the way back in 2019.

Voters aren't wrong about this, the president being incompetent is a massive problem. You have to be extremely partisan or extremely anti-Trump to accept the rationale that "his unelected staff will run the show."

If the president being incompetent was an issue Trump wouldnt be anywhere near the republican candidacy, they would of injected bleach to that idea long ago. Whats worse is hes a dangerous ego maniac who has made lieing so endemic to his brand that nobody knows which lies to focus on. He will unsettle global politics even further then they already are, I cant fathom how anybody would imagine Trump being a positive candidate in any scenario.

I agree that Biden is very unsuitable at this stage, but Biden losing his marbles while in office is not as big a danger as a degenerating Trump or even a Trump as he is now. A low bar, yes, but Americans are as stupid as the UK on brexit in this. This really is a vote for the least worse option and Biden is by far the better option in pretty much any metric.

Trump is populism, Biden is boring but more reliable/predictable.

 

[Iker Quesadillas]

If the president being incompetent was an issue Trump wouldnt be anywhere near the republican candidacy, they would of injected bleach to that idea long ago. Whats worse is hes a dangerous ego maniac who has made lieing so endemic to his brand that nobody knows which lies to focus on. He will unsettle global politics even further then they already are, I cant fathom how anybody would imagine Trump being a positive candidate in any scenario.

The reality that people have to grapple with is that a substantial percentage of voters see Trump as a somewhat competent candidate. You don't have to "fathom" it, but other people do. It is what it is.

 

[Beachryan]

The reality that people have to grapple with is that a substantial percentage of voters see Trump as a somewhat competent candidate. You don't have to "fathom" it, but other people do. It is what it is.

But this is the point: there's nothing other than media apparatus and ignorance which have landed us here. You're 100% correct that voters believe Trump is more capable on any number of things, even areas where he as President utterly failed. Similarly, voters believe Biden is weaker in areas he has demonstrably succeeded. It's all down to asymmetry of both the voting bases and the media environment.

Just take this report on documents. Look at this situation, in full. Here's what happened:
- Trump gets caught having stolen classified documents, mis-stored them, lied about having them, instructed staff to hide or destroy them and then refused to comply with orders to return them, and lied again.
- This being the most open and shut cause, the GOP did what they always do - project in the other direction. So they found Biden had also kept documents (and other senators, but that's already been forgotten)
- Merrick Garland, sweet naive prince that he is, appoints a Trump-appointed prosecutor (Hur) to lead a special consel invesigation, to avoid any accusation of bias
- Hur, after an investigation that clears Biden, ensures that the most talked about piece will be a line he chose to insert - not about the case, not about the documents, no instead about a hypothetical jury's hypothetical intepretation of a hypothetical Joe Biden's perception. That is hackery of the highest order.
- Today, that's all anyone is talking about. Not Trump's willfully illegal actions. Not Biden you know, being cleared of the accusation. Nope, it's a quote from a political hack which rises to the top.

Reminder, we're barely a week from when Trump was successfully sued for 83m for defamation of a woman he sexually assaulted. That story is gone. What's more important is that Hur has successfully pushed the narrative to senile Joe.

It's exactly the same impact as the Comey 'but her emails' fiasco, except this time Hur is deliberately trying to sway an election, rather than Comey who was just an idiot.

And it all comes down to the fact that one side of voters cares about shame, and facts and the other side of voters prefer to live in a fantasy world. One where benevolent Trump really cares about them, despite an 80-year body of evidence that will throw literally anyone under the bus without a moments hesitation if he believes it'll help him. Including each and every one of them.

 

[hodgey123]

What actually happens if Biden wins but then has to relinquish the presidency on medical grounds say 3 months in? Does the VP just take over for the next 3 and a bit years, or is there another election?

 

[Beachryan]

I should also note as I've said countless times on here I desperately wish the DNC would choose almost anyone other than Biden. Will never understand why they haven't.

 

[HTG]

I should also note as I've said countless times on here I desperately wish the DNC would choose almost anyone other than Biden. Will never understand why they haven't.

Because they love their little rules and conventions more than actually governing the country. It’s the same shit they did with Ginsburg.

 

[Chumpsbechumps]

The reality that people have to grapple with is that a substantial percentage of voters see Trump as a somewhat competent candidate. You don't have to "fathom" it, but other people do. It is what it is.

Republicans saw Sarah Palin as a competent candidate, a potential heartbeat away from being the most powerful person in the world.

It seems that Competency, from an objective perspective, is irrelevant when it comes to things like elections.

Thats why I find this fear of Biden so odd, seems to be only relevant for Democrats to be competent at a higher level.

 

[Jev]

What actually happens if Biden wins but then has to relinquish the presidency on medical grounds say 3 months in? Does the VP just take over for the next 3 and a bit years, or is there another election?

VP takes over as per the 25th amendment.

 

[langster]

I'll ammend to Trump saying this week that Nancy Pelosi was in fact responsible for the insurrection on Jan 6th. Which he also said was not an insurrection. And that follows from last week when he blamed Nikki Haley for it, when he meant the very similar Nancy Pelosi. The point being Trump says 10 things a day taht are worse than Biden saying Mexico instead of Egypt, but you'd have no idea in how the media handle things.

Trump has always said stuff like this. He's constantly wrong, misinformed, making stuff up or getting things confused. Before he was elected and when he was President he made gaffes like this daily and the press was crucified for picking on him, focusing on the wrong things or just making things up. That's where the whole 'fake news' thing came from.

Everything you mention has been covered but the fact is, nobody is surprised or really gives a shit. His base either don't care or don't believe it and everyone else almost expects it and as with the million other times he's done it, know it won't affect a single thing as he will either lie about saying it or brush it off and whatsboutism it with Biden or the Dems.

The big difference here is we have had a Presidency full of moments where people have been questioning the President's health. One side have been relentless in mocking him and claiming he's sick and the other side have been either ignoring it or defending it with 'well Trump is worse' Now we have a report that has come out that exonerates Biden of any criminal wrongdoings so it's good in one way, but the downside is it crucifies him in another because it puts it firmly down to old age and age related memory lapses or illness. Obviously because of that it's going to be open season on Biden now, everyone who has been pushing this will feel justified for doing so and those defending him will rightfully feel a little stupid. Any little mistake, slip, fall or stumble be it physically or vocally, by Biden, will now be headline news and pounced upon and commented on, reported and put under the microscope by Trump, MTG, Gaetz and all the rest of the MAGA clowns and their followers, and of course, the media too.

The worst part is this is the same crime that Trump has been charged with and although there are very clear differences, especially with intent and reason why the files and documents were kept, that won't make a single difference to those defending Trump as in their eyes there is no difference in the two cases and it just further reinforces the witch hunt narrative that Trump has been peddling since the beginning of his Presidency right up to now. And of course, until Trump is medically declared unfit or to have issues, all his cock ups will just be treated or excused as Trump being Trump.

The implications of all this have yet to really be felt because it will affect everything Biden says or does not only in the US but also on the world stage too.

 

[sugar_kane]

I don't know enough about American politics/media to know if I'm talking complete shit or not, but wouldn't a sensible strategy for the Democrats be to elevate the profile of the team around Biden?

One man doesn't run a country. Provided Biden has an amazing team around him (or at least a team which the public perceive to be amazing) his age shouldn't matter.

In the UK the Prime Minister has an aura around him for sure, and a bad Prime Minister can bring down a government, but his or her senior cabinet are just as prolific in the media and can help make or break the party in the eyes of the people.

 

[slyadams]

But this is the point: there's nothing other than media apparatus and ignorance which have landed us here. You're 100% correct that voters believe Trump is more capable on any number of things, even areas where he as President utterly failed. Similarly, voters believe Biden is weaker in areas he has demonstrably succeeded. It's all down to asymmetry of both the voting bases and the media environment.

Just take this report on documents. Look at this situation, in full. Here's what happened:
- Trump gets caught having stolen classified documents, mis-stored them, lied about having them, instructed staff to hide or destroy them and then refused to comply with orders to return them, and lied again.
- This being the most open and shut cause, the GOP did what they always do - project in the other direction. So they found Biden had also kept documents (and other senators, but that's already been forgotten)
- Merrick Garland, sweet naive prince that he is, appoints a Trump-appointed prosecutor (Hur) to lead a special consel invesigation, to avoid any accusation of bias
- Hur, after an investigation that clears Biden, ensures that the most talked about piece will be a line he chose to insert - not about the case, not about the documents, no instead about a hypothetical jury's hypothetical intepretation of a hypothetical Joe Biden's perception. That is hackery of the highest order.
- Today, that's all anyone is talking about. Not Trump's willfully illegal actions. Not Biden you know, being cleared of the accusation. Nope, it's a quote from a political hack which rises to the top.

Reminder, we're barely a week from when Trump was successfully sued for 83m for defamation of a woman he sexually assaulted. That story is gone. What's more important is that Hur has successfully pushed the narrative to senile Joe.

It's exactly the same impact as the Comey 'but her emails' fiasco, except this time Hur is deliberately trying to sway an election, rather than Comey who was just an idiot.

And it all comes down to the fact that one side of voters cares about shame, and facts and the other side of voters prefer to live in a fantasy world. One where benevolent Trump really cares about them, despite an 80-year body of evidence that will throw literally anyone under the bus without a moments hesitation if he believes it'll help him. Including each and every one of them.

Whilst all this is true, what do you want to do about it? You can't stop Trump from lying, his base from being ignorant/gullible and the right wing news outlets doing their thing. You have to beat him at the ballot box with all this going on and Biden is proving an easy target.

 

[Red in STL]

Despite what Boris used to say Brexit is still not done and likely never really will be. and in my opinion we are nowhere near done with our populist catastrophe.

Is the UK a member of the EU?

Nope, therefore Brexit is done, but you're not wrong about the catastrophe

 

[pacifictheme]

Is the UK a member of the EU?

Nope, therefore Brexit is done, but you're not wrong about the catastrophe

Leaving the EU was only the start of Brexit my man.

 

[Jev]

I don't know enough about American politics/media to know if I'm talking complete shit or not, but wouldn't a sensible strategy for the Democrats be to elevate the profile of the team around Biden?

One man doesn't run a country. Provided Biden has an amazing team around him (or at least a team which the public perceive to be amazing) his age shouldn't matter.

In the UK the Prime Minister has an aura around him for sure, and a bad Prime Minister can bring down a government, but his or her senior cabinet are just as prolific in the media and can help make or break the party in the eyes of the people.

They sort of did try that with Kamala Harris at the beginning of Biden’s term. I think Biden had every intention of passing on the torch to her and being the transitional figure he said he would be. But she proved to be very unconvincing and is polling even worse than Biden. It seems they bet on the wrong second horse and dallied too long so now they’re stuck with Biden as the best bet to beat Trump.

 

[Laurencio]

It fascinates me how most of the comments on here are about Biden making another gaff, in a week where:
1. The GOP received everything and more it asked for in a bipartisan border/foreign aid deal, and then refused to vote on it because Trump told them not to
2. Failed to even get the votes in the house to randomly use impeachment to do...something on immigration. And failed because they'd banked on a democrat being in surgery. And admitted that.
3. Numerous GOP members have come out and said they will not work on border security - the number 1 issue in America - for the rest of the year in case it helps Biden win.
4. Trump had a ridiculous immunity argument slapped down savagely by a district court
5. Trump said 10 crazier things and it doesn't even raise an eyebrow, including his great friend Orban the President of Turkey.

The asymmetry is staggering, but feels about where the media is pitching these days. Scum, the lot, and the world eats it up and misses the actual stories.

It's fairly simple. Trump won't get any more voters regardless of what happens. He's reached the maximum he can get. His voters will show up pretty much regardless of what happens - short of a series of criminal convictions given by a conservative judge. They aren't voting for policy, they are voting for Trump. Trump could say that the GOP needs to increase the deficit tenfold for America to be great again, and his voters would still vote for him. He could stand on fifth avenue and claim God is a hoax, and the evangelicals would still vote for the man as their "imperfect vessel".

Biden on the other hand can win and lose votes, and does have a problem with turnout. His voters care about policy, and sanity, and age, and a number of miniscule issues that doesn't really matter. He has a much wider voter group to cater to. For Biden it's a battle to avoid voters staying at home, voting third party or voting blank. On the record it's not a contest, and anyone voting on basis of policy have long since decided to vote for him. The sad truth is that his accomplishments, which are extraordinary by any standard, aren't important enough to the people he needs to get out there to vote. Some would rather not vote or vote blank, than to vote for Biden at this point.

 

[utdalltheway]

A dithering old man that can’t remember basic things is not an ideal.
wrt to Trump it doesn’t matter if he dithers as the GOP will just use him to get what they what they want; more right wing judges, less taxes., etc.
It’s a double standard but life’s not fair and the US electorate has shown us they can be really feckin stupid.

 

[MrMarcello]

Then again, DeSantis made the democratic party virtually extinct in Florida, a state that only tilted red some years ago.

In that regard, he has had far bigger influence on politics than Newsom, who governs in a state that was solid blue before him, and will be so after.

Well, of course I was referring to every short man's wish to be taller, most human's desire to be seen as good-looking, and being a more authentic and crafty public speaker, but DeSantis does have a nod for his governing tenure - much easier to be a Trump-clone and pushing conservative and extremist policies in a state that has been trending red a while. I see hundreds of homeless in the Greater Tampa/St. Pete area and can imagine this will begin increasing in the coming years, will be interesting how they the state remedies it (probably round-ups and exiles to blue states). Funny it's never brought up nor is he questioned (or is he?) over booming insurance costs and rising property taxes.

DeSantis has the louder voice though Florida has had a Republican governor for the past 24 years, and going more extreme with each governorship. The biggest factors are the relocation increase which has brought more persons leaning right to far right and the GOP getting more registered voters/converting registered voters (and the DNC basically being inept), and credit to DeSantis for calling for more conservatives to relocate to Florida, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic reacting towards public resentment to lockdowns and mandates. DeSantis has pushed an extreme district gerrymandering - greatly helped by national GOP assistance, illegally I should add - and is far more willing to whore himself to media with a massive ego, thus mimicing Trump. He's certainly stamping his tenure on the state but it's been trending far right for some time now, he's simply hammering the final nail put in place by many others.

 

[Morty_]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Rosendale is here to crash the party, not what Mitch and co wanted, hopefully he screws up what should be a very winnable race for them.

 

[calodo2003]

Tourniquets…

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[maniak]

It fascinates me how most of the comments on here are about Biden making another gaff, in a week where:
1. The GOP received everything and more it asked for in a bipartisan border/foreign aid deal, and then refused to vote on it because Trump told them not to
2. Failed to even get the votes in the house to randomly use impeachment to do...something on immigration. And failed because they'd banked on a democrat being in surgery. And admitted that.
3. Numerous GOP members have come out and said they will not work on border security - the number 1 issue in America - for the rest of the year in case it helps Biden win.
4. Trump had a ridiculous immunity argument slapped down savagely by a district court
5. Trump said 10 crazier things and it doesn't even raise an eyebrow, including his great friend Orban the President of Turkey.

The asymmetry is staggering, but feels about where the media is pitching these days. Scum, the lot, and the world eats it up and misses the actual stories.

Sadly none of that is relevant. Republican voters are like lemmings so their vote is secure. Biden on the other hand has voters who care about specific issues and if he loses it will be because he lost voters to abstention, not to trump.

Right now the election is not about gettin new voters, is to see who loses fewer voters. And trump has very few to lose, biden has more to lose, so the situation is worse for him.

 

[oneniltothearsenal]

That’s what worries me. It doesn’t seem to matter what Trump does, if Biden does anything remotely off, it seems to resonate more.

I mean the American economy is booming, but you wouldn’t know it looking at the narratives. It’s just nuts.

Most people perceive interaction with "the economy" in two ways, prices and the job market.

While inflation has slowed down, it's not like prices have returned to pre inflation levels (they rarely do). So most people still see higher prices everywhere and feel inflation even if the rate isn't high anymore.

And I believe a lot of the job growth is due to minimum wage type low income jobs. Meanwhile many tech companies and others have done a lot of layoffs over the last 12-18 months. So a lot of good jobs disappeared only to be replaced by low paying ones.

So I bet most people don't perceive the economy as booming for them. The benefits are all going to the top not felt by the middle.