This year always felt to me more like 2016. What I mean is that my left leaning friends were very vocal and even pushy about their choice. They loudly stated their claim. My right leaning friends were pissed. They wouldn't write much, but they would specifically call out things that upset them over the past few years. Though I felt Trump would win in my gut, I didn't even answer your poll I don't think because I learned a long time ago that what I think is often not in line with what most think.
NY Democrat Ritchie Torres said in a Tweet: "Donald Trump has no greater friend than the far left, which has managed to alienate historic numbers of Latinos, Blacks, Asians, and Jews from the Democratic Party with absurdities like “Defund the Police” or “From the River to the Sea” or “Latinx.”
For me, in addition to that, is where the crime and the tone deafness on many cultural issues is. Forcing people to abandon ICE vehicles or natural gas cooking are deal killers. And being done by unelected bureaucrats to boot. Oh some of it may pass, for a bit, until people actually figure out the cost. I always believed the general public will self correct though I doubted that this time. I said to my very liberal cousin back in 2015 when he was talking about all the forced changes coming on the climate front, "all it takes, is one election."
There will be many takes in the coming years. I personally believe every citizen is pretty much on the same page though. They want good opportunities, a safe community and a good job, stable family and all those American pie things. Another hot take: after the past few years many of the younger voters may have become more right leaning than they ordinarily may have. Especially the Hispanics who were thought to guarantee so many future wins for the Dems. Look up their social values and you'll see why that isn't necessarily so. So, so much to chat about and disagree or agree about. One thing is for certain, the US will continue to evolve year to year and decade to decade.
Thanks for your observations, Dan. The far left extremism as reflected by defund the police certainly does play into the hands of the GOP. I am hopeful that moderation and compromise will rise again. Just not holding my breath!
We need group therapy. From the history of your votes, I'm guessing you emphasize character. McCain was certainly a pro-character vote. Dole and GWB were running against Clinton, who had the reputation of playing fast and loose, and was impeached. Dole also had a sort of irrepressible honesty, politician though he was.
For those who voted for Trump, of course, where would one start in critiquing their vote? But the reason they shouldn't have voted for him, and in my dream world, what Harris would have said as she passed the torch to Trump on behalf of the Biden administration, was to make a plea that he, first of all, exercise a modicum of responsibility, and second of all, subject all of his decisions to the test of tolerance. On the first, a president SHOULD lose sleep at night worrying about the impact of what he does, both in terms of lives lost, and the potentially devastating consequences down the road, when it comes to something like global warming. There is no indication that Trump does this, or has this sense. Trump cannot be trusted to do the very basic things that any steward, indeed anyone given responsibility in any job, needs to be trusted to do. Then, a president should always bend in the direction of tolerance, and whenever any of his decisions are inconsistent with it, we should throw into question the wisdom and the safety of the decision.
With effort, responsibility and tolerance are possible. We know he will not find them and take them on, but there is no reason he theoretically couldn't. Where it is hopeless, where it is beyond pleas, is on the score of judgment. His is impaired. This does more broadly encompass not knowing right from wrong. There is truly no amount of alcohol that could give someone judgment as bad as Trump's.
I believe all presidents and candidates can be assessed on responsibility, tolerance, trust, and judgment, on whether they pass those tests. All presidents need to have at least an adequate level, and whether we like their politics or not, most do. For some presidents there are interesting arguments on each of these, but Trump simply inhabits a different landscape. I would submit that he ranks last on each of these values, compared to all of our other presidents.
People live in their bubbles and echo chambers of those they identify with. What concerns me here is that majority of the country has spoken and no Democrats hear their voices. And Harris exit speech had no reverse of condemnations she had, nor any call to come together. Her message amounted to keep the fight and our dog will have its day on the sun one day soon. Perpetuating the division in the country means only one solution to bridge the chasm for the country which is eventually civil war. Divided we stand. Divided we fall. Sorry Matt I am severely disappointed and see nothing encouraging in the inability to see beyond echo chambers of those we surround ourselves with and with ourselves. A better response than condemnation would be what did i miss? The obsession with Trump blinded the Democratic party here to the reality of the majority of voters and their lives.
I think you demonstrate a classic example of confirmation bias. You live in a far left echo chamber and ignore any evidence contrary to your favored POV. On the day of your poll, I favored that Kamala would win, but only in a very close contested election. A few days later – Oct 23 - when I reviewed the data again I changed my opinion as I wrote to Corey Gimbel:
“I was sure ole Joe was going to lose. But then after the coup, there was so much enthusiasm for Kamala, the poles turned around and I thought the Trumpster was finished. Now however, her momentum is gone. She clearly is an airhead - as originally suspected - so much so that even SNL (a DP stalwart) has even made fun of her. So I'm back to my original opinion. Trump wins.”
The reasons: As James Carville presciently said in 1992: “it’s the economy stupid”. This administration has fostered the highest inflation in 40 years. Whether they were responsible or not is not the issue. The vast perception is as “captain of the ship of state” they were and the buck stops on Biden’s desk. Kamala Harris was unable to sperate herself from the administrations very unpopular policies. In fact when asked if she would do anything differently she replied she would not.
You are incorrect when you say Trump was the most unpopular President. Mr. Biden in fact was more unpopular. At the 197th week of their terms, Biden’’s approval rating was 41%. Trump’s 44%. Once again, Kamala Harris was part of this disastrous administration and refused to distance herself from it when given an opportunity to do so.
Immigration was a disaster despite all efforts by Democrats and their allies in the press to gaslight it otherwise. Immigration (and the economy) countered to large degree the abortion advantage of the Democrats.
Kamala proved the prior rumors: that she was an empty airhead This was confirmed when she refused any meaningful interviews and could not otherwise answer a question straight up. The convention bump was done, there was nothing there.
Finally for me, as a doctor with over 40 years of clinical experience, the more I thought about this, the more angry I got: she was part and parcel of the biggest coverup of Presidential health since Wilson. This was an outright conspiracy against the American people. She maintained that Biden was at the “top of his game” when I knew as she must have (for the past three years in fact) that was plainly and obviously false. The truth of the matter was that Mr. Biden had a severe cognitive impairment This was disgraceful and I think many others were offended by her outright dishonesty especially when after June27th the charade was up.
There is so much more. But this your site, not mine.
Maybe, Matt, in the future look at data and opinions that counter your preferred narrative. At the very least there was NO f’n way this election was going to be a Democratic landslide. No f’n way.
This year always felt to me more like 2016. What I mean is that my left leaning friends were very vocal and even pushy about their choice. They loudly stated their claim. My right leaning friends were pissed. They wouldn't write much, but they would specifically call out things that upset them over the past few years. Though I felt Trump would win in my gut, I didn't even answer your poll I don't think because I learned a long time ago that what I think is often not in line with what most think.
NY Democrat Ritchie Torres said in a Tweet: "Donald Trump has no greater friend than the far left, which has managed to alienate historic numbers of Latinos, Blacks, Asians, and Jews from the Democratic Party with absurdities like “Defund the Police” or “From the River to the Sea” or “Latinx.”
For me, in addition to that, is where the crime and the tone deafness on many cultural issues is. Forcing people to abandon ICE vehicles or natural gas cooking are deal killers. And being done by unelected bureaucrats to boot. Oh some of it may pass, for a bit, until people actually figure out the cost. I always believed the general public will self correct though I doubted that this time. I said to my very liberal cousin back in 2015 when he was talking about all the forced changes coming on the climate front, "all it takes, is one election."
There will be many takes in the coming years. I personally believe every citizen is pretty much on the same page though. They want good opportunities, a safe community and a good job, stable family and all those American pie things. Another hot take: after the past few years many of the younger voters may have become more right leaning than they ordinarily may have. Especially the Hispanics who were thought to guarantee so many future wins for the Dems. Look up their social values and you'll see why that isn't necessarily so. So, so much to chat about and disagree or agree about. One thing is for certain, the US will continue to evolve year to year and decade to decade.
Thanks for your observations, Dan. The far left extremism as reflected by defund the police certainly does play into the hands of the GOP. I am hopeful that moderation and compromise will rise again. Just not holding my breath!
We need group therapy. From the history of your votes, I'm guessing you emphasize character. McCain was certainly a pro-character vote. Dole and GWB were running against Clinton, who had the reputation of playing fast and loose, and was impeached. Dole also had a sort of irrepressible honesty, politician though he was.
For those who voted for Trump, of course, where would one start in critiquing their vote? But the reason they shouldn't have voted for him, and in my dream world, what Harris would have said as she passed the torch to Trump on behalf of the Biden administration, was to make a plea that he, first of all, exercise a modicum of responsibility, and second of all, subject all of his decisions to the test of tolerance. On the first, a president SHOULD lose sleep at night worrying about the impact of what he does, both in terms of lives lost, and the potentially devastating consequences down the road, when it comes to something like global warming. There is no indication that Trump does this, or has this sense. Trump cannot be trusted to do the very basic things that any steward, indeed anyone given responsibility in any job, needs to be trusted to do. Then, a president should always bend in the direction of tolerance, and whenever any of his decisions are inconsistent with it, we should throw into question the wisdom and the safety of the decision.
With effort, responsibility and tolerance are possible. We know he will not find them and take them on, but there is no reason he theoretically couldn't. Where it is hopeless, where it is beyond pleas, is on the score of judgment. His is impaired. This does more broadly encompass not knowing right from wrong. There is truly no amount of alcohol that could give someone judgment as bad as Trump's.
I believe all presidents and candidates can be assessed on responsibility, tolerance, trust, and judgment, on whether they pass those tests. All presidents need to have at least an adequate level, and whether we like their politics or not, most do. For some presidents there are interesting arguments on each of these, but Trump simply inhabits a different landscape. I would submit that he ranks last on each of these values, compared to all of our other presidents.
People live in their bubbles and echo chambers of those they identify with. What concerns me here is that majority of the country has spoken and no Democrats hear their voices. And Harris exit speech had no reverse of condemnations she had, nor any call to come together. Her message amounted to keep the fight and our dog will have its day on the sun one day soon. Perpetuating the division in the country means only one solution to bridge the chasm for the country which is eventually civil war. Divided we stand. Divided we fall. Sorry Matt I am severely disappointed and see nothing encouraging in the inability to see beyond echo chambers of those we surround ourselves with and with ourselves. A better response than condemnation would be what did i miss? The obsession with Trump blinded the Democratic party here to the reality of the majority of voters and their lives.
I think you demonstrate a classic example of confirmation bias. You live in a far left echo chamber and ignore any evidence contrary to your favored POV. On the day of your poll, I favored that Kamala would win, but only in a very close contested election. A few days later – Oct 23 - when I reviewed the data again I changed my opinion as I wrote to Corey Gimbel:
“I was sure ole Joe was going to lose. But then after the coup, there was so much enthusiasm for Kamala, the poles turned around and I thought the Trumpster was finished. Now however, her momentum is gone. She clearly is an airhead - as originally suspected - so much so that even SNL (a DP stalwart) has even made fun of her. So I'm back to my original opinion. Trump wins.”
The reasons: As James Carville presciently said in 1992: “it’s the economy stupid”. This administration has fostered the highest inflation in 40 years. Whether they were responsible or not is not the issue. The vast perception is as “captain of the ship of state” they were and the buck stops on Biden’s desk. Kamala Harris was unable to sperate herself from the administrations very unpopular policies. In fact when asked if she would do anything differently she replied she would not.
You are incorrect when you say Trump was the most unpopular President. Mr. Biden in fact was more unpopular. At the 197th week of their terms, Biden’’s approval rating was 41%. Trump’s 44%. Once again, Kamala Harris was part of this disastrous administration and refused to distance herself from it when given an opportunity to do so.
Immigration was a disaster despite all efforts by Democrats and their allies in the press to gaslight it otherwise. Immigration (and the economy) countered to large degree the abortion advantage of the Democrats.
Kamala proved the prior rumors: that she was an empty airhead This was confirmed when she refused any meaningful interviews and could not otherwise answer a question straight up. The convention bump was done, there was nothing there.
Finally for me, as a doctor with over 40 years of clinical experience, the more I thought about this, the more angry I got: she was part and parcel of the biggest coverup of Presidential health since Wilson. This was an outright conspiracy against the American people. She maintained that Biden was at the “top of his game” when I knew as she must have (for the past three years in fact) that was plainly and obviously false. The truth of the matter was that Mr. Biden had a severe cognitive impairment This was disgraceful and I think many others were offended by her outright dishonesty especially when after June27th the charade was up.
There is so much more. But this your site, not mine.
Maybe, Matt, in the future look at data and opinions that counter your preferred narrative. At the very least there was NO f’n way this election was going to be a Democratic landslide. No f’n way.