Sandy, I no longer believe appealing to our better angels is a viable way forward to end polarization. I do believe that when people show you who they are, you should take them at their word. And for the past several years, there is one and only one party that has stressed the guardrails that's kept our democracy going for 250 years. The…
Sandy, I no longer believe appealing to our better angels is a viable way forward to end polarization. I do believe that when people show you who they are, you should take them at their word. And for the past several years, there is one and only one party that has stressed the guardrails that's kept our democracy going for 250 years. Their intentions are clear through words and deeds. There are *no* better angels to appeal to.
Sandy, in a sane world, there should be no swing voters. The election is between an old man who is a good man and has been a good president, and the biggest friggin' moral degenerate who has ever been elected to office. Period. The record is clear, the stakes are clearer, and there is no margin for error. And if one of these swing voters can't wrap their head around and acknowledge the purely existential threat Trump presents, then we are totally and legitimately screwed.
Yes it does. At this point, there is nothing to be done about that except reach them, inform them and persuade them to vote Democratic. That's what canvassing is. That's the responsibility of the Dem party. (Yes, this all hangs on the Dem party.) Can they do it? Maybe not. Gotta try.
I have faith in my ability, Tim. I'm a good listener, and I'm interested in learning people's stories. Listening shows respect. That goes a long way in reaching people with whom I have political disagreements.
Well, thank you, but part of it is me being female. We're talking interpersonal skills here, relationships. Women are generally better at that than men. It's also my temperament. I've learned how to listen without judgement. I don't know that any of that makes me better. Maybe just more skilled or, rather, differently skilled. I'm sure there are things you can do that I cannot.
Well, for an engineer, I'm pretty emotionally intelligent. But I'm also an empiricist. So when I see the following --
"Swing voters trust Trump more than Biden on the economy, immigration, and foreign policy. Biden holds an edge on other key issues including abortion, health care, and climate change. However, swing voters say they’re not sure whom they trust more on these issues at a higher rate than likely voters overall."
-- coupled with this --
"Swing voters are politically disengaged. They broadly dislike Biden and Trump and do not pay much attention to politics. Many are not sure which candidate they trust more on major political issues. They also demonstrate low interest in national politics and less enthusiasm for the 2024 election than likely voters overall."
-- I want to throw my laptop out the window and scream. We're pretty much at full employment, the rate of inflation has slowed, real wages are rising, interest rate cuts appear to be coming later this summer, personal wealth is increasing, the S&P is up 18.7% this year, and so on, and yet, these swing voters trust Trump more on the economy? "Oh, sure, a million people died because of COVID, but at least gas was cheaper." And it never occurs to these people that the reason why gas was so cheap is because there was no demand for it because we were shut down!!
Immigration? Really?!? The same guy who ordered his sycophants in Congress to kill the most restrictive immigration bill in forever because Trump wants to run on the issue instead of solve the problem.
Trump's better at foreign policy? I guess these "politically disengaged" swing voters must have missed Trump groveling in front of Putin in Helsinki, or Trump fondly remembering his "love letters" with Kim Jong Un. Meanwhile, all Biden has done is reinvigorate NATO in defense of democracy in Ukraine and elsewhere while Trump and his sycophants are pledging to destroy the very thing that has kept us at peace longer than I've been alive.
And all I can picture is Trump 2.0 and people like JVL, Tim, Kristol, Sarah, me, you and others who dared to speak truth to power are thrown into a gulag, and these same swing voters telling themselves, "I didn't know Trump would do that."
Sandy, I no longer believe appealing to our better angels is a viable way forward to end polarization. I do believe that when people show you who they are, you should take them at their word. And for the past several years, there is one and only one party that has stressed the guardrails that's kept our democracy going for 250 years. Their intentions are clear through words and deeds. There are *no* better angels to appeal to.
Among MAGA, yes. Among swing voters, I think there are.
Sandy, in a sane world, there should be no swing voters. The election is between an old man who is a good man and has been a good president, and the biggest friggin' moral degenerate who has ever been elected to office. Period. The record is clear, the stakes are clearer, and there is no margin for error. And if one of these swing voters can't wrap their head around and acknowledge the purely existential threat Trump presents, then we are totally and legitimately screwed.
Tim, I don't know any pesonally (but I will be canvassin in WI next month, so I will). The surveys I've seen on them (https://www.dataforprogress.org/insights/2024/5/30/measuring-the-swing-evaluating-the-key-voters-of-2024) show that they are disengaged, low-information voters. I don't know that the record of either candidate or the stakes in electing Trump are clear to them.
And yet the fate of the republic lies upon their shoulders.
Yes it does. At this point, there is nothing to be done about that except reach them, inform them and persuade them to vote Democratic. That's what canvassing is. That's the responsibility of the Dem party. (Yes, this all hangs on the Dem party.) Can they do it? Maybe not. Gotta try.
You have more faith in the ability to reach them than I do.
I have faith in my ability, Tim. I'm a good listener, and I'm interested in learning people's stories. Listening shows respect. That goes a long way in reaching people with whom I have political disagreements.
Well, you're a far better person than me, Sandy. And I mean that.
Well, thank you, but part of it is me being female. We're talking interpersonal skills here, relationships. Women are generally better at that than men. It's also my temperament. I've learned how to listen without judgement. I don't know that any of that makes me better. Maybe just more skilled or, rather, differently skilled. I'm sure there are things you can do that I cannot.
Well, for an engineer, I'm pretty emotionally intelligent. But I'm also an empiricist. So when I see the following --
"Swing voters trust Trump more than Biden on the economy, immigration, and foreign policy. Biden holds an edge on other key issues including abortion, health care, and climate change. However, swing voters say they’re not sure whom they trust more on these issues at a higher rate than likely voters overall."
-- coupled with this --
"Swing voters are politically disengaged. They broadly dislike Biden and Trump and do not pay much attention to politics. Many are not sure which candidate they trust more on major political issues. They also demonstrate low interest in national politics and less enthusiasm for the 2024 election than likely voters overall."
-- I want to throw my laptop out the window and scream. We're pretty much at full employment, the rate of inflation has slowed, real wages are rising, interest rate cuts appear to be coming later this summer, personal wealth is increasing, the S&P is up 18.7% this year, and so on, and yet, these swing voters trust Trump more on the economy? "Oh, sure, a million people died because of COVID, but at least gas was cheaper." And it never occurs to these people that the reason why gas was so cheap is because there was no demand for it because we were shut down!!
Immigration? Really?!? The same guy who ordered his sycophants in Congress to kill the most restrictive immigration bill in forever because Trump wants to run on the issue instead of solve the problem.
Trump's better at foreign policy? I guess these "politically disengaged" swing voters must have missed Trump groveling in front of Putin in Helsinki, or Trump fondly remembering his "love letters" with Kim Jong Un. Meanwhile, all Biden has done is reinvigorate NATO in defense of democracy in Ukraine and elsewhere while Trump and his sycophants are pledging to destroy the very thing that has kept us at peace longer than I've been alive.
And all I can picture is Trump 2.0 and people like JVL, Tim, Kristol, Sarah, me, you and others who dared to speak truth to power are thrown into a gulag, and these same swing voters telling themselves, "I didn't know Trump would do that."