We can only hope!
IF, and that is a big IF- the debates follow a decent set of rules, as the DNC suggested. But if trump just goes off rules and bloviates- then why bother? It’s not a debate- it is just a venue for trump to bloviate.
It seems to me the idea is that voters will have forgotten about the debates by the time the election rolls around should it happen that way. It won’t make a difference to the hardcore base, but the low information voter would have forgotten about it by then. Biden is also unlikely to benefit from the debates, barring a strategy of calling a spade a spade. My guess is Biden will instead turn in a dull, forgettable, but safe performance.
Or, if the Trump gets hammered in the debates it may build on the recent memories and impressions of the trial(s) and cement/reinforce an opinion?
Having the debates early also leaves open the possibility of agreeing to more later on right?
Having the debates early also allow Joe to Cherry-Pick the Greatest Hits of Crazy and incorporate them into adds that run nearly non-stop for weeks before the election.
Trump is ramping up his fund-raising, but I bet the legal fees are eating into it, assuming he pays his current lawyers.
Cited in the comment section of today’s Simon Rosenberg column:
Maricopa County, the state’s largest, will be key to winning Arizona. Fortunately, MAGA-Republicans failed to put one of their own in charge of elections there. And the good people who are in charge of Maricopa’s elections are taking election security very, very seriously!
EDIT: Also from the same comments section – I hadn’t realized two battleground states had abortion referenda on the November ballots:
One thing you haven’t talked about as much is states with abortion referendums on the ballot in 2024, but my understanding is that we now have these in Arizona, Nevada, Florida, and Missouri. I think this really bolsters our chances in Arizona and Nevada, and while flipping Florida for the presidential is a long shot (but not impossible!) it would be worth it if it helps us defeat the ghoulish Rick Scott.
We figure that the abortion/reproductive rights issue will increase the vote [turnout] by 20%.
Wow, that’d be great. I’m skeptical, but I’d love to see it happen!
Is Florida winnable by (or even just worth fighting for) Democrats?
I don’t think it is. At the district level we’re pretty brutally gerrymandered, to be sure, but we also fall down hard at statewide voting.
With abortion and weed both on the ballot, this election will be, I think, the most bellewetheriest bell ever to wether in the state.
The threshold in Florida for amendments is 60 percent. This is almost certainly impossible for legalizing weed, but if it can’t clear 50 percent in an election year you might as well dig a canal and push us into the ocean.
At risk of sounding like a broken record I will again say the Biden campaign needs to be very careful about how much money, time and energy they spend trying to win Florida. PA, MI and WI are much friendlier states for them and winning those plus the given Blue states will get them to 270 EV and victory. In 2016 the Democrat made a big play for FL and failed to win those three states thereby giving victory to DJT. Making the same error this time will be fatal.
I dunno - nearly 65% voted to restore voting rights to Florida felons in 2018 (a result the GOP have been actively undermining ever since, but still) so you never know how these amendments might go.
There are considerable local pro-Biden resources being brought to bear both in Florida and (for example) North Carolina. The Biden Campaign might kick these grass-roots effort some money, but Biden won’t have to barnstorm those states over and over or anything like that.
I agree. Although shoring up Nevada seems like it would be an excellent an idea as well. It would also be a lot less expensive than Florida would be.
Agreed here about Nevada. Maybe putting some money and effort in Arizona would be a good idea as well for Biden and for the Senate race.
My point is that if this election (vote to legalize weed, protect abortion, and beat Trump) doesn’t get enough Democrats to the polls to swing the dial, nothing will.
60% for weed is bigly unlikely, though. Even states that passed similar amendments rarely cracked it.
I approve:
Ohio’s recalcitrant GOP legislators are making this bullshit necessary:
She made a play for Arizona as well and I wondered why at the time – Maricopa county hadn’t shit-canned Arpaio yet – she lost by 90,000 votes.
And Biden won AZ by 10000 votes in 2020. The Dems shouldn’t concentrate on FL by any means, but they shouldn’t write it off either.