Nah, those guys almost never vote for Dems. When those “center-right” (which would have been considered solidly right back in the Bush years or earlier) Republican voters don’t like what they see, they don’t vote for somebody else, they simply don’t vote at all.
So, sure, make sure they know how bad things are but don’t waste too much time or resources actively trying win their votes. That’s been a losing proposition for several election cycles now at the national level. To the extent they should be targeted, it’s at the local level where party affiliation still matters a great deal but to a lesser extent.
I could imagine that they might not even form that much of an opinion. It COULD be just that they think, “I ALWAYS vote R. For whatever reason, I think ANY R will be better than ANY D.” And they don’t go beyond that. Might not be able to tell you much of anything about the candidates.
I might be similar - tho I DO make some effort to learn something about candidates. It would take a pretty off-the-rails Dem candidate to get me to pull the level for just about any R. Could happen, but would have to be pretty extreme.
I suspect that is accurate. But, even if a number of them manage to hear enough about Trump to make them stay home, that would be a positive.
Sure, don’t write them off entirely, but also don’t spend a lot of money trying to win them over, either. It’s a tricky balancing act. You don’t want to admit you want them not to participate in an election but between the bad options, you hope they opt out rather than support outright fascists. The world in which the scales fall fro their eyes and they come to the side of the angels doesn’t seem to exist.
What we saw from the last election is that turnout among supporters is more important - Trump’s turnout did not falloff as much compared to 2020 vs how many 2020 Biden voters just didn’t bother to come out for Harris in 2024. There were some folks switching, of course, but it seemed predominantly to be about enthusiasm.
Fair point, but a normally reliable GOP vote who abstains is still a win. I think that was the reaction in 2020, when the suburban women famously stampeded away from Trump. Sure, they normally voted Republican, but they did NOT sign up for children in cages. That bloc did migrate to Biden, though your point stands. Some probably just stayed home.
So, a smart Dem strategy, ISTM, would be to flood the zone with appalling images (Minnesota shootings, sobbing children being dragged away by ICE, tear gassing peaceful protesters, etc.). The MAGAs will of course applaud. But category 4 Trump voters may just decide “I didn’t sign up for this.”
This is me. It would take a pretty off the rails D for me to vote R. In fact, I can’t imagine anything a D could do, maybe if they came straight out and said they wanted to open a basement pizza place so they could traffic kids.
In a way, I suppose I should thank the Republicans for making elections so easy. I only have to put in thought for the Democratic primaries.
I suspect some of them are along the lines of anti-abortion hardliners who see the Democrats as supporting the murder of babies. And similar niche demographics.
Not saying that’s all of them, but while bigotry is a factor it’s not the only one.
Along with This is not normal for America. Yes, the MAGAts will applaud but they’re a lost cause. As I told one conservative, “It is not the Democrats who turned political opponents into political enemies. When they start to hit back you have only yourself to blame.”
I never would; the Republicans as a whole are a problem, not just any individual. As many have pointed out, Trump is more of a symptom than the cause. And the Democrats are far more willing to hold their members accountable. As opposed to what we see with Trump, where he’s been consistently allowed to run wild.
Simply put, I’d vote for a Democrat who was a literal demon before I would for any Republican, because no matter how vile or crazy the Democrat is he or she simply won’t be allowed to do as much damage as the Republican. A Democrat who tried to act like Trump would have been stopped cold and impeached.
I think the difference is, if such a Democrat showed up, they’d lose in the primaries, so you’ll most likely never face such a dilemma in a general election. But the Republicans (and people who want to be like them, like the current Conservative Party in Canada) rarely if ever turn on their own just for being crazy or deplorable. They’ll look at two nominations for a candidacy, and pretty consistently choose the worse one.
NB-not Monty’s words, but a quote of a news article
I read somewhere that the polio epidemics in the 1950’s were at least partially due to improve sanitation and cleanliness. The virus was (is?) common in the environment, but not particularly dangerous to babies/small children. They would be exposed, get a little sick, and be immunized going forward.
Polio is apparently very dangerous to teens/young adults. Growing up in clean, sanitary homes they didn’t develop resistance. Then when exposed to the virus, they got very sick and died or were disabled.
Tell that to FDR who didn’t even make it to the 1950s. The majority of cases, many severe, were in kids who hadn’t reached their teen years yet. To the extent improved sanitation made a difference, it was to limit exposure to the virus in the first place, not to build resistance (see also: current polio outbreaks not just in the US but abroad). This ‘resistance’ thing sounds adjacent to some anti-vax talking points about how it was improved sanitation, not vaccines, that led to the near eradication of the disease.
You are correct that improved sanitation didn’t lead to the near eradication of the disease. It was widespread vaccination. I’m from a generation whose parents always had that fear hanging over them, that their kids would come down with it. They leapt at the chance to have us vaccinated.
However the role of better sanitation was, ironically, to worsen outcomes of many polio infections. For whatever reason, younger children who were infected were less likely to have bad outcomes. Something like 70% of infections among infants have no signs or symptoms. After exposure they have resistance.
For many, better sanitation (Polio is spread through feces.) didn’t totally prevent exposure; it delayed it till an older age when the outcome was devastating.
From the polio chapter of a CDC document: “In immediate prevaccine era, improved sanitation resulted in less frequent exposure and increased age of primary infection, resulting in large epidemics with high death count.”
However, anyone who thinks that this means vaccines should be abandoned in favor of “natural immunity” is an evil moron who kills children. The various polio vaccines were an incredible success story, and any policies that reduce vaccination rates, will, in the end, produce untold misery and hardship. I’ve given up hope that the country can be convinced of this; now all I hope for is that future generations will have an accurate idea of whom to blame for the disaster.
You just have to make it safe. After all, that’s what vaccines are; exposing somebody to the threat of a disease which is too disabled or incomplete to actually harm them.
Yo, felon! Yeah, you! You, Rip van Simple. Come sue me. I’m writing you’re in horrible health. You’re overweight. You’re obviously suffereing from dementia. And your diet grosses out those who have to be within whiff-shot of you.
The rest of the article goes into detail about how a bill, including a treaty, becomes a law in South Korea. Since there aren’t any pictures to show the process, America’s toddler will never learn.
Color me shocked! The new ownership took control of the split-off American TikTok a few days ago, and now anti-ICE videos won’t load. Who would have predicted!