For the purposes of Biden’s campaign between now and Election Day 2024, none of this matters. Virtually no one that has a positive view of the GOP messaging in May 2024 is “convertible” in five and a half months. The people you are talking about have to be regarded as ceded to Trump.
Instead, it makes more sense for the Biden campaign to attempt to appeal to the “usually don’t vote” people, and especially those that already lean or identify as liberal. Encouraging someone to get out and vote one time is a lot easier than changing someone’s entire worldview in five months.
My focus was far narrower than the “other side” you mention in your quote.
I was referring specifically to a constrained subset of “the other side”, to wit: those who have “a positive view of the GOP messaging in May 2024”.
“Those who have a positive view of the GOP messaging in May 2024”, in turn, is my distillation of your “they’s” below:
You are hearing “destroying democracy”, while they are hearing “taking control of the nation’s problems”. You are hearing “dictator” while they are hearing “man who can get things done”.
People falling within the spectrum you posit surely exist … but I’m convinced that the number of people in that spectrum is proportionally very, very small. Maybe less than 500,000 people in the entire electorate of ~155-160 million.
To me, the “usually don’t vote” cohort may have some overlap with those in the spectrum, but that’s not particularly important. Biden need only work to appeal to some portion of the already-liberal (or leaning) in the “usually don’t vote” cohort.
This is true, but that doesn’t mean attempting to explicitly court “people currently softly-leaning to Trump” is a prudent use of Biden’s campaign resources. I don’t think many “softly-leaning to Trump” are gettable – and those from that cohort that might change their minds within five months will arrive at that change largely on their own and not from direct efforts of Biden’s campaign.
Ah, the “look what you made me do” argument that arises every time. Saying that others will lie about you if you tell the truth about them is not really a deterrent or a strategy; it’s just an excuse to blame you for what the others were going to do anyway (see: the “deplorables”).
Also, rather ironically you are doing to very thing you are accusing other of. Why do you keep describing others in such unflattering terms if you yourself admit it’s ineffective?
I don’t think I’ve changed much as a voter since 2016, but I am more polarized. That’s not because I or the Democrats have really changed all that much, but because the other pole has moved so far away, and in such a crazy manner, that I can no longer consider Republicans for any office. Eight years of watching this circus, and the seventy million Americans who voted Trump in 2020, really frustrated me: the fact that four years after that tens of millions of people are STILL prepared to support him does make me feel pretty hopeless.
I mean, maybe some people are trusting and hopeful and not at all frustrated, but with due respect I can’t imagine why.
Polarized and distrustful? Confused and frustrated?
Confused?? Seriously?
That’s the post I was responding to.
If you are genuinely confused, I would ask that you find a reason to stay home on election day.
Well, I’m confused as to why any human who has achieved voting age without dying of stupidity could vote for that man in 2016, much less 2024, so yes, very confused.
But that didn’t affect your vote. The post mentioning confusion implied that the public was unsure of the best choice, which is Russian propaganda bullshit. Also known as American Republican bullshit.
I think retail politics has infantalized a lot of people, and the large media outlets just amplify it to eleventy.
What kind of underwear does the candidate prefer? The expectation that “my guy” is going to pay off my student loan, or pay for this, or pay for that. H.L. Mencken wrote 100 years ago that elections are little more than “an advance auction of stolen goods”. Sounds about right.
Are you under the impression they are representative of people with whom Biden is unpopular?
Whereas “High food and fuel prices are all Biden’s fault!”, “Crime is soaring!” and “The border is wide open!” are common sentiments expressed by those who don’t like Biden, despite none of them being true.
I don’t know. I don’t hear about this stuff from the types of people we’re talking about. I hear more about Gaza. Cost of living and prices make a difference to those who have, like 3 jobs. Not saying it’s Biden’s fault. (though I wish wages kept up…)
It’s undeniable that Democrats have long taken black and other minority votes for granted (although whenever they actually seek to address any minority concerns, the right immediately leap on it as “pandering”). The Democrats as a party aren’t nearly as invested in the concerns of those communities as they often purport to be.
But the GOP are actively hostile to those communities and promote policies that would literally hurt them more, as well as doing everything in their power to disenfranchise them. From trying to bring back redlining to encouraging police brutality to simply preventing voters in black neighborhoods standing in long lines to vote (because the Republicans have cut back on the resources at their voting locations) from being given water, cruelty and bigotry are baked into the Republican brand.
In short, the Democrats may not care all that much about minority voters, but the Republicans absolutely hate them and want to hurt them. Faced with those choices, the best option is vote for the least worst option and then work to get the much-needed policies prioritized.
My actual opinions? Sure. Your gross misrepresentations of them? Of course not.
Tell me: when you asked these questions:
…did you think they were germane to what I said, or were you just throwing out random hypotheticals?
Because if it’s the former, you’re definitely ascribing views to me I didn’t express and don’t hold, and if the latter I can safely ignore them as irrelevant.