It depends on the specific “progressive” policy in question. Some are popular with the public at large; others less so. Which did you have in mind?
Seriously the Right Left dichotomy fails to contain Trump whose defining characteristic is how he is placed on the authoritarian v libertarian axis, but who most of all has no cohesive ideology other than resentment and delusional self aggrandizement.
Thing is, I’m not entirely sure what the poster I was responding to means by centrist. I was discussing it on a more conceptual level.
I was responding to a train of thought started by @PhillyGuy, saying she needs to convince everyone she’s a true centrist. @Love_Rhombus was saying that could alienate progressives, and @Railer13 couldn’t see how.
So I was describing how it could happen, but then also questioning the premise that she needs to prove herself as a “true centrist” and not just add some centrism to the pot.
I would presume @PhillyGuy has something more specific in mind.
Surely, the most informative pair of questions would be “Do you consider Trump too extreme? Do you consider Harris too extreme?”. Let the respondents figure out extreme what.
Technically, I feel that there’s a difference between asking “is X too Y?” and “is X too Y to be president”. Though if the general public doesn’t agree, what I think is moot.
Here is an interesting swing state survey that asks the “too extreme” question several ways:
SSRS/CNN Poll, August 23-29, 2024
Date summarized in the middle two blocks on page 7 looks good for Harris. 54 percent in Pennsylvania think Trump is too extreme, while only 47 percent think that of Harris.
But for a real head-scratcher, look at the percent in this block on page 7:
“Likely voters who say Donald Trump’s views are too extreme”
And compare results to this block on page 8:
“Likely voters who say Kamala Harris’ views are too extreme”
In Pennsylvania, the likely voter percent is the same for both presidential candidates – 88 percent!
In the other swing states, the “too extreme” numbers are pretty close to that, with Arizona and Michigan likely voters actually showing one or two points worse for Harris.
What I take from this:
– While lots of voters (like me!) dislike extremism, others want it. This helps explain why the too extreme question get such various responses.
– The way the average voter, whether Democratic, Republican, or Independent, thinks about the Harris-Trump choice is far removed from how most of us here analyze the candidates.
Just an advance note to those interested in watching the debate who either don’t have cable (I don’t because I’m allergic to TV commercials!) or prefer to stream it on their computer or streaming device.
ABC News offers a bunch of viewing suggestions here.
For Canadian viewers, some of those may or may not work, but the ABC News live feed is blocked outside the US. The best option for computer streaming in Canada is probably the CTV News Channel live feed at ctvnews.ca.
I find that youtube often works better on my slow connection than the TV stations do. One of the options ABC is offering is a youtube version so I’m expecting to try that one.
Yes, the ABC article mentions YouTube. I don’t know if that’s US-only or not. I’ve never had an issue with the CNN live feed but I don’t think CNN has the rights to carry this debate.
CNN, Fox, NBC, CBS, and Newsnation will all be simulcasting the debate.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4863963-how-to-watch-trump-harris-debate/
Thank you for that. Until now I had only seen that ABC and its associated streaming channels would be carrying it. This probably means that CNN will be offering free streaming on its main site as it does for other major events.
I would love to be a fly on the wall to see whether the “debate prep” being offered by these two laughable suck-ups is any more challenging or sophisticated than a wipe across tearful eyes and repeated variations on the phrase “masterful rhetoric, sir.”
I agree with Steele here. Don’t try and go after or zing Trump. Those are for candidates in a normal world with a normal opponent. Build the case for yourself. Treat it as an audition or a job interview, not a debate.
I want to watch the debate, but I have other plans tonight. I no longer have recording equipment of my own. Any guesses where i can stream the whole debate on Wednesday?
Not trying to nitpick: do you mean you have other plans Tuesday night?
Purely a guess, but maybe Youtube? The ABC News youtube page shows a batch of previous episodes available in full; the debate might well be also.
Yes, i have other plans tonight, too, but it’s tomorrow night’s plans that mean i can’t watch the debate live. I misspoke.
Here’s who is in theory prepping the debaters on foreign policy. Not a lot of new faces on Trump’s side. I’m sure they’ll show up in the new Trump Admin.
As we get closer to the debate I am becoming more concerned about how Harris will do. Expectations for many seem to be that she will squash DJT like a bug with her prosecutorial style and intelligence. I don’t know if that is how it will play out or if it would be a good strategy for her to go on the attack.
I mostly agree with what Michael Steele suggests but even that may not work. James Carville
also had some strategy suggestions for Harris. They are a bit different than what Steele.
I am very concerned the debate could hurt her with voters in similar ways to what it did to Biden. I know age is not an issue for her but I think the absence of a live audience was one of several reasons Biden looked worse than he has when speaking to an audience. The energy that would have brought was missing.
DJT will be the same no matter what but I am concerned Harris may come across as low energy and weak.
Everyone and his brother is telling Harris what she should do against Trump and every bit of advice conflicts with every other bit of advice.
She seems to do best when she ignores all the kvetching from the sidelines and trusts her instincts. I think Trump is a maddening opponent whose ranting gibberish is very difficult to counter effectively, but I’m looking forward to seeing her try.