So many countries have elected a woman chief executive that I am skeptical about why the U.S. would be different.
However, the first woman chief executive tends to be at least slightly right of center. Examples include Margaret Thatcher (UK), Kim Campbell {Canada), Angela Merkel (Germany), Jenny Shipley (New Zealand), Ewa Kopacz (Poland), and Giorgia Meloni (Italy). The sample size is small, and there are counter-examples; the clearest one I found is Julia Gillard from Australia, and, arguably, Isabel Perón is another. There also are some who are hard to classify on a right-left axis. But I think that a woman from the right is less threatening to misogynists.
This does get us back to NIkki, who I think would handily defeat BIden in the extremely unlikely event of being nominated.
Several Republican friends (and ex-friends) of mine claimed post-election to be unaware of the “grab them by the pussy” quote, or the mocking of the disabled reporter Serge Kovaleski.
I think that message control is central to this. The right-wing media can keep a secret.
Other Trump supporters deny he was mocking the reporter for a disability. I’m not convinced most Trump supporters really believe what they say they’re just trying to win an argument.
Yes, Fox News is central. They are panderers, not journalists: hosts tell their audience what they think they want to hear, not what they believe. Central to their business model are cable fees paid by people who rarely or never watch them. https://unfoxmycablebox.com/
After the election was over, Trump’s trendline approval rating hit 39% at its lowest, when he was pushing his tax reform program (which passed). That’s what blows my mind: there were plenty of Republicans who should have known better who registered their approval of Trump as he eg pushed quack cures for Covid and experienced rapid turnover in staff. Sure, polls show that 20% of the public believes weird things. Tack on 10% for partisanship. That still leaves 10-15% who should have known better.
No, although they were well-known leaders of their own party when the parliamentary elections, that resulted in their elevation, occurred.
But you are of course making a good point. Some British voters choose on the basis of the party and its leadership – I suspect this is true of those who post here! But others focus on which local MP candidate has the more appealing personality.
I do think Haley being a woman would help her in November 2024 if it was somehow possible for her to be nominated. Some swing voters will doubt that a mother would govern hard-right.
Sort of for Merkel. While basic or electoral law don’t specify it, it is generally expected and accepted that the party with a simple majority of the popular vote gets to lead the governing coalition and install their top candidate as chancellor. Which was Merkel all along.
I think partisanship and tribalism play a bigger role. Many people are one-issue voters and it’s just a binary decision at the ballot box. Many others aren’t interested in taking time for nuanced analysis of issues - politics is just another team sport and they want they’re team to win.
I agree, and I think it’s very possible that she becomes the nominee if Trump dies or is otherwise unable to run. The Kochs’ support may actually make her the default in that situation.
And as I’ve said in other threads, her gender, ethnicity and non-apparent-insanity might appeal to plenty of moderate swing state voters comparing her to “old Joe.”
I dunno. It isn’t as tho the Dems should expect a monopoly on the Pres and SCt noms in perpetuity. A NH president - especially if paired w/ Dem majorities in 1/both houses… Like I said, I dunno how horrible it would be. And I would welcome the precedent of a younger, female, ethnic Pres.
This is exactly what I’m talking about. Haley would be every bit the disaster Trump would be – and maybe even worse – as far as pushing the rightwing agenda, but lots of voters might ignore all that because they want to give “a younger, female, ethnic” a chance.
If you value women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, or environmental protections, don’t fall for it.
If it’s a choice between trump and Biden, and trump might win, or between Haley and Biden, and Haley might win, I’d take the latter gamble 100 times out of 100.
Even if Haley would have a better chance of beating Biden, I’d still rather have that matchup. I don’t want the remotest possibility of trump being anywhere near the levers of power again.
If it came down to it, the country could survive a random Republican administration even if it meant conservative policies we don’t support or agree with were pushed forward for a few years. I believe another trump administration would eventually result in the end of our democracy entirely.
I don’t disagree. I’d rather have Haley as POTUS than Trump, though not by much.
But my point is that she does have a better chance of beating Biden, because a lot of voters might be fooled by her gender and ethnicity into thinking she wouldn’t do everything she could to push an extreme rightwing agenda. Not only would she push it, but because she’s an actual, skilled politician, she might be more successful at it than Trump would be.
Totally agree. Perhaps some action is needed here, like switching party affiliation to Republican for the primaries - would that help Haley’s chances of securing the nomination? We don’t have to vote for her in the general, but is there anything else we can do to ensure Trump gets sidelined? I am not counting on the justice system getting enough traction in time here.
Is there any Repub - who appears to have ANY chance of being elected - who you would not find horrible?
I’m with the folk who say, no, I don’t want Haley, but I much more do not want Trump. And this older white guy wants very much to move away from the near monopoly on power held by older white guys.
I’ll point out also that Kim Campbell was chosen as leader of the Conservatives and although she was PM for a time, she subsequently lost the actual election in an epic landslide. That was more a response to her predecessor Brian Mulroney, as well as the rise of a populist western party though.