Octopus Overlords

Romney to NYT: “As a Biden campaign theme, I think the threat to democracy pitch is a bust. Jan. 6 will be 4 years old by the election. Ppl have processed it, one way or another. Biden needs fresh material, a new attack, rather than kicking a dead political horse.”

Two weeks before the New Hampshire presidential primary, Donald Trump holds a nearly 20 percentage point lead over Nikki Haley, but would lose a general election rematch with President Biden by roughly 7 points, a new Suffolk University/Boston Globe/USA Today poll found.

Voters in the swing state said they were worried about immigration and the economy, but their biggest concern was one Biden has made a centerpiece of his campaign — the future of American democracy.

In the Republican race, 46 percent of likely voters said they intend to vote for the former president, compared to 27 percent who support Haley, the former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor whose support has surged in recent weeks and who now has the backing of popular New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu. Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie is in third with 12 percent, followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at 8 percent.

But Haley might have trouble making up any more ground: About 8 out of 10 GOP primary voters said they’re unlikely to change their minds before the Jan. 23 primary, according to the survey. To close the gap, Haley would probably need several things to break her way, including Christie deciding to drop out, said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. He noted that the poll showed Christie’s supporters would break by a 7-to-1 margin to her over Trump.

Kraken wrote:I'm glad the threat to our democracy has traction. Sometimes it feels like voters are "democracy? eh, whatever."

YellowKing wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2024 9:32 am

Kraken wrote:I'm glad the threat to our democracy has traction. Sometimes it feels like voters are "democracy? eh, whatever."

These articles often serve to remind me that A) Americans have been conditioned to fix their grievances at the ballot box and B) most do it in private. When you're involved in political discussion every day, it's maddening the seeming indifference among fellow Americans. But I think on the whole, the people who do vote are paying attention at some level.

El Guapo wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2024 3:43 pm Is it weird that I'm sad that Christie dropped out of the race? I mean, it's probably ultimately for the best that he did, since it gives Haley maybe a 1% chance of beating Trump instead of a 0.5% chance. But Christie was the only one in the race really speaking truth about Trump. Christie was never really going to go anywhere at the end of the day, but still feels like this closes a chapter in terms of Republican voters' ability / willingness to hear facts.

Holman wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2024 7:31 pm

El Guapo wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2024 3:43 pm Is it weird that I'm sad that Christie dropped out of the race? I mean, it's probably ultimately for the best that he did, since it gives Haley maybe a 1% chance of beating Trump instead of a 0.5% chance. But Christie was the only one in the race really speaking truth about Trump. Christie was never really going to go anywhere at the end of the day, but still feels like this closes a chapter in terms of Republican voters' ability / willingness to hear facts.

Christie's campaign was a test of whether significant numbers of Republicans were willing to entirely reject Trump and what he stands for. Now we know the answer.

Kraken wrote: ↑Thu Jan 11, 2024 11:23 pm I can't root for Nikki Haley. I just can't.

Kraken wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 12:52 am The most positive thing one can say about her is that she probably isn't a threat to democracy.

Kraken wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 12:52 am The most positive thing one can say about her is that she probably isn't a threat to democracy. The most concerning is that she would probably beat Joe Biden.

LordMortis wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 10:41 am Not sure. MAGAts might vote revolt. Then the bigots might not vote for a woman, much less a woman of questionable WASP heritage. Still the Biden hate and belief the economy is doomed is strong. And of course the economy state in November is a long way away. And getting us directly involved in the Red Sea conflagration will change the balance of voters one way or another as time goes on. And then there's Congress...

Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 10:47 am

LordMortis wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 10:41 am Not sure. MAGAts might vote revolt. Then the bigots might not vote for a woman, much less a woman of questionable WASP heritage. Still the Biden hate and belief the economy is doomed is strong. And of course the economy state in November is a long way away. And getting us directly involved in the Red Sea conflagration will change the balance of voters one way or another as time goes on. And then there's Congress...

I wonder if we've reached a point where the "economy state" doesn't matter, but what people THINK (or more accurately maybe, WANT to think) the state of the economy is.

A vibecession is a period of widespread pessimism about the economy regardless of the actual economic situation.

The term vibecession references the word vibes, in the sense of “a general feeling or attitude.” During an alleged vibecession, the vibes are bad (in a “recession”) due to people feeling pessimistic about the economy.

Vibecession is a non-technical term that refers to low consumer sentiment, a measurement of the public’s opinion on the economy. The term vibecession is used to refer to a time when the economy is relatively good according to financial data and statistics, but the public is pessimistic about the current or future economic situation. This pessimism could be due to a wide variety of reasons, such as a period of inflation being good for borrowers but bad for the average person. Another common theory states that millennials and younger generations contribute to a vibecession because they frequently learn about the economy through social media, which tends to emphasize negativity and pessimism.

Scraper wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 9:50 am

Kraken wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 12:52 am The most positive thing one can say about her is that she probably isn't a threat to democracy. The most concerning is that she would probably beat Joe Biden.

I don't think she would beat Biden. If she somehow wins the primary I think most of the Magats would stay home for the general and Biden would have an advantage. I have a hard time seeing the hardcore racist maggots voting for an Indian woman.

malchior wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 11:31 am Yes - there is even now a term for it - vibecession

Scraper wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 9:50 am

Kraken wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 12:52 am The most positive thing one can say about her is that she probably isn't a threat to democracy. The most concerning is that she would probably beat Joe Biden.

I don't think she would beat Biden. If she somehow wins the primary I think most of the Magats would stay home for the general and Biden would have an advantage. I have a hard time seeing the hardcore racist maggots voting for an Indian woman.

Victoria Raverna wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 12:15 pm

Scraper wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 9:50 am

Kraken wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 12:52 am The most positive thing one can say about her is that she probably isn't a threat to democracy. The most concerning is that she would probably beat Joe Biden.

I don't think she would beat Biden. If she somehow wins the primary I think most of the Magats would stay home for the general and Biden would have an advantage. I have a hard time seeing the hardcore racist maggots voting for an Indian woman.

She looks white enough and her current name is white enough. I don't think stupid racist MAGA are going to realize she is an Indian woman.

El Guapo wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 1:26 pm

Victoria Raverna wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 12:15 pm

Scraper wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 9:50 am

Kraken wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 12:52 am The most positive thing one can say about her is that she probably isn't a threat to democracy. The most concerning is that she would probably beat Joe Biden.

I don't think she would beat Biden. If she somehow wins the primary I think most of the Magats would stay home for the general and Biden would have an advantage. I have a hard time seeing the hardcore racist maggots voting for an Indian woman.

She looks white enough and her current name is white enough. I don't think stupid racist MAGA are going to realize she is an Indian woman.

Her skin tone is dark enough to trigger MAGA types, believe me.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 3:18 pm Putting aside the visibility of the loudest minority, how many R voters are actually MAGA vs only voting for R or never voting for D?

GreenGoo wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 4:51 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 3:18 pm Putting aside the visibility of the loudest minority, how many R voters are actually MAGA vs only voting for R or never voting for D?

Given the lack of traction anyone but Drumpf has, I'd say a lot of them.

Scraper wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 6:28 pm

GreenGoo wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 4:51 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Jan 12, 2024 3:18 pm Putting aside the visibility of the loudest minority, how many R voters are actually MAGA vs only voting for R or never voting for D?

Given the lack of traction anyone but Drumpf has, I'd say a lot of them.

I'd say about 50% of them

A majority of Republican primary voters in CBS News polling — 81% — said that they agreed with President Trump's statement that immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country," and 47% of voters overall said they agreed with it.

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Sun Jan 14, 2024 11:25 pm But even if he isn't? This sentiment isn't going to just vaporize.

Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur and author of "Woke, Inc.", announced Monday night he is suspending his presidential campaign.

"We did not achieve the surprise that we wanted to deliver tonight," he said.

Ramaswamy, who predicted to Axios in October a "solid second or third" finish in the Iowa caucuses, came in fourth in the first presidential contest. Former President Donald Trump dominated the caucuses. Ramaswamy has endorsed Trump for the nomination.