Big Picture American Politics

[Lisnaholic]

People are starting to hate Genocide Joe more than Trump lol.

^ Actually, according to recent polls, things are going in the opposite direction: Trump used to have a noticable lead over Biden in election match-up polls, but he has recently been closing the gap. This article is from The Economist, which is a well-respected publication in the UK:-

https://www.economist.com/interactive/us-2024-election/trump-biden-polls

If you open this link, the second graph has a neat vertical date-line that you can play with.

My prediction is that this upward trend for Biden will continue between now and the election for these reasons:
 
- Biden has been slow to respond to international condemnation and I sympathise with DJ mentioning Biden's "unwavering support of Israel". I think that his support is showing signs of wavering already and that he will listen to people like Nancy Pelosi:

 

Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has joined House Democrat calls to halt US arms sales to Israel, citing the recent strike against aid workers and the spiraling humanitarian situation.

In a letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Pelosi and dozens of other congressional Democrats expressed their "shared concern and outrage" over the Israeli airstrike that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers.

"In light of this incident, we strongly urge you to reconsider your recent decision to authorize the transfer of a new arms package to Israel, and to withhold this and any future offensive arms transfers until a full investigation into the airstrike is completed," it reads.

- starting April 15, the USA will for weeks be seeing Defendant Trump, forced to attend his own trial, which will surely turn off many voters. Although it's glibly called "the hush money case", it's about more that Trump being a naughty boy with Stormy Daniels:

"This case reveals Trump as having essentially the same purpose as Richard Nixon in Watergate, hiding the truth through fraud and bribery in order to influence the outcome of a presidential election" 

- thanks to Lexi and others, more people will become aware of what a Trump win could really do (Project 2025)

- Trump, ever more desperate, will be cranking up his vermin/animal/ rhetoric, etc, which may finally ring an alarm bell with Christians if they bother to dip into their "God Bless America" bibles looking for anything in the New Testament about de-humanizing your fellow man.

- the extent of the underlying ground-swell of disgust about the Republican stance on abortion may not show in the Trump/Biden polls, but it has been there at the poll booth for every election where voters get to choose if they want a bunch of old Republican men deciding women's reproductive rights. I suspect that those voters will be turning out for Biden on election day too. 

[jimmy jazz]

Big D still favourite with the bookies.

I'd be surprised if Genocide Joe manages to win.

[Marie Monday]

^the way you call them big D and genocide joe is actually a good example of the way in which Trump presents himself (and others) manipulates people's feelings about them

[jimmy jazz]

I'm not being manipulated. I just don't like Biden.

[Marie Monday]

If you can get behind using those respective names for them then you are being manipulated, whether you like it or not.

Trump is a fascist who tramples on human rights and democracy, locks immigrant children in cages away from their parents, is friendly with mass-murdering fascist dictators and is fine with said mass murders if it happens to suit him politically (and that includes the one in Gaza). He's also a lying, manipulating fraud and a member of a powerful, privileged, corrupt elite just as much as Biden. He's also a much greater threat to human rights and democracy than Biden (and let it be clear that i despise biden too). I don't mean to be harsh or to attack anyone here and I know you all mean well, but I have no patience with any justification for voting for this man (under any circumstance) or downplaying who he is. It's just too serious and dangerous for that

[jimmy jazz]

I'm not going to go back and forth over who has done what, because for everything said about Biden there will be 'yeah but Trump'.

The fact is, Trump is not in power. Biden is in power NOW, and is the one supporting this genocide.

[Lexi Darling]

Everything Marie said. This is bigger than Trump himself, too. The Republican agenda is being propped up by billionaire Christian nationalist groups who are pushing to install a theocratic hetero-patriarchal government and law. They are anti-women's and LGBTQIA+ rights, pro-censorship of the internet and against freedom of expression, among many other things. They spelled this all out openly in the Project 2025 document (and then deleted it like the cowards they are).

For the record, I also don't believe you have ill intentions and I know you are good people. But I think it's paramount to be informed on this stuff.

[Lisnaholic]

Trump is a fascist who tramples on human rights and democracy, locks immigrant children in cages away from their parents, is friendly with mass-murdering fascist dictators and is fine with said mass murders if it happens to suit him politically (and that includes the one in Gaza). He's also a lying, manipulating fraud and a member of a powerful, privileged, corrupt elite just as much as Biden. He's also a much greater threat to human rights and democracy than Biden (and let it be clear that i despise biden too). I don't mean to be harsh or to attack anyone here and I know you all mean well, but I have no patience with any justification for voting for this man (under any circumstance) or downplaying who he is. It's just too serious and dangerous for that

Yes, I agree, Marie. It seems like Trump's popularity is both inexplicable and dangerous.

 

I'm not being manipulated. I just don't like Biden.

One time, in a booze-fuelled argument, a friend of mine, driven to exasperation, said to his opponent: "I know what you're thinking and you're wrong to think that!" It sounded so over-the-top unfair at the time that it quickly became a regular catch-phrase with me and my friends, so I'm going to say it to you now, jimmy jazz - but completely as a joke at my expense: I hope that's understood.  

[jimmy jazz]

One time, in a booze-fuelled argument, a friend of mine, driven to exasperation, said to his opponent: "I know what you're thinking and you're wrong to think that!" It sounded so over-the-top unfair at the time that it quickly became a regular catch-phrase with me and my friends, so I'm going to say it to you now, jimmy jazz - but completely as a joke: I hope that's understood.  

Yes sir.

[Lisnaholic]

Yes sir.

   

[Marie Monday]

I'm not going to go back and forth over who has done what, because for everything said about Biden there will be 'yeah but Trump'.

The fact is, Trump is not in power. Biden is in power NOW, and is the one supporting this genocide.

yes that's fair, I don't want to go over all that either, but trump has been in power and done horrible things too, so why isn't he called names like that then? That's what I mean.

Anyway, the 'i know what you're thinking and you're wrong to think that' story also hits the nail on the head about the way I'm feeling so i'll second that

[SGR]

starting April 15, the USA will for weeks be seeing Defendant Trump, forced to attend his own trial, which will surely turn off many voters.

The guy who's been impeached twice, been accused of colluding with Russia, been accused of plotting a coup to overthrow the government, facing 91 felony charges, and has been mugshotted in a jail beginning to attend (another) trial will result in his polling going down?

[Lisnaholic]

^   Put like that, it sounds unlikely, but I'm still hoping !

[DJChameleon]

yeah no if you want to protest Biden that's good but there are many better ways of doing that than voting trump. Also I wouldn't call trump's policy about these things wild card; he just doesn't give a shit about human rights and is very ready to support atrocities if is suits him. That's unambiguous and all you need to know

I have already protest voted against Joe Biden this past week. It was the democratic primary and I casted a blank ballet to show that there is a chunk of Democrats that don't agree with what he is doing in regards to aid to Israel providing weapons etc. 12% of the base in New York did the same. Like I stated before my presidential votes counts for so little. He will easily win NY state so throwing it away by voting for Trump doesn't mean much. I'm not trying to make the case that Trump is better than Biden but I just don't like them both and there are no other meaningful options really.

[Marie Monday]

I have already protest voted against Joe Biden this past week. It was the democratic primary and I casted a blank ballet to show that there is a chunk of Democrats that don't agree with what he is doing in regards to aid to Israel providing weapons etc. 12% of the base in New York did the same. Like I stated before my presidential votes counts for so little. He will easily win NY state so throwing it away by voting for Trump doesn't mean much. I'm not trying to make the case that Trump is better than Biden but I just don't like them both and there are no other meaningful options really.

I know you're not making the case that trump is better, and I'm also aware your vote is not influential. That's not what I was getting at. I was saying that even as an act of protest, trump is too horrible a person to make voting for him (as an act in itself regardless of outcome) justifiable. The blank vote you did is one of the actually decent forms of protest I had in mind.