Don't blame me, I voted for the other guy. (Politics General)

Ben Garrison is pro-Putin, hates any Republican who speaks out against Trump (Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, and even freaking Mitch McConnell!), has no idea what a Banana Republic is, thinks that Democrats control the weather, and thinks that Ivermectin is a cure for Covid instead of Covid vaccines. And that just scratches the surface.

Ah yes, I knew there was probably more to this story underneath. Thanks for filling in the gaps. Also explains why Selaphiel is especially mad about it in the News thread.

A 17-year-old boy — wearing a T-shirt featuring an image of Trump raising his middle finger in front of an American flag background — punched Kathleen Tomasko, a 70-year-old Harris supporter, knocking her off her feet. According to witnesses, the 17-year-old was walking away from a separate altercation with a male Harris supporter when he struck the woman and knocked her to the ground.

“There were these four boys that were, you know, Trumpers, and it’s a Harris rally,” Tomasko said. “So they were going back and forth and antagonizing people, and our people were antagonizing them, I guess.”

The rally, called by supporters “Rally on the Bridge,” was part of the nationwide Women’s March, and was specifically in support of Harris and Amendment 4, a ballot measure that would put protections for abortion rights in Florida’s state constitution.

Tomasko said she has been attending political events for decades, but has never experienced anything like this.

@BlueYoshi
So four dudes are causing chaos for Trump.

@BlueYoshi
Still very scummy to euthanize pets, especially considering that from what I’ve heard, they were well past the point where rabies would have killed them if they were carriers.

@BlueYoshi
One interesting thing about the woman’s march is that the one of 2016 in protest of Trump was one of the largest marches in US history dwarfing the show of support for Trump during his inauguration.

@Meanlucario
You can get it later, and it’s dormancy period is capable of being very long so given rabies survivors are a single digit group it’s a justified rule to be safe,

Seems like I’ll need to look into the judges than the local seats since they don’t have parties listed (if they are or aren’t a member of a party in spirit is another thing).

I’m seeing a lot of articles featuring interviews with republican women who are voting for Harris and keeping it secret from their husbands.

And that that’s what’s driving the polling result in Iowa. Women, especially older women who know what it was like pre-Roe, are breaking hard for Harris.

@Zincy
tbh I take all of these, along with the general “I’ve been a republican all my life and voted for Trump twice, but…”, stories with a massive grain of salt. For all I know they asked fifty people in a row until finding the one that said the line.

I’m taking nothing for granted, of course. Still, even if 1 in 50 were being truthful, that would still represent a hell of a shift. Even 1 in 100 would still be a level of crossover support that’s we’ve not seen in decades.

@The Smiling Pony
It’s becoming more and more common though. There’s friction and cracks within the GOP since many establishment republicans are not on board with being Trump’s sycophants since they realize Trump is only in it for Trump.

Sucks there aren’t any sites I can really bet on for the election(none that don’t use crypto anyways)

Really wanted to bet on Harris winning Michigan and the Popular Vote(money back guranteed) but oh well

Anyways, I read a pretty interesting write up on the election polling which states that local inflation in the states is playing a role in how voters value their priorities in the election, Tl;dr the less inflation a state has the more it prioritises issues like abortion, democracy etc., which is beneficial to Democrats and may explain the Iowa Selzer Poll results

Furthermore the loss of Latino and black voters from the democrats may have something to do with them being more working class and non-college educated and therefore taking the brunt of inflation as compared to college educated voters

Honestly, at this point Trump can do a Nazi salute and say “White power, it’s time to make America white again,” and he’ll have millions try to defend him by saying that Hitler wasn’t a bad guy. Either that or they’ll just start attacking people who disagree with them, because I get the feeling they’re all tired of defending Trump rhetorically and just want their day of the rope.

One of the most influential black evangelist pastors in Texas has broken ranks and endorsed Harris, posting an op-ed where he encourages evangelists to reject the thrice divorced, twice impeached, convicted felon even if they disagree with Harris socially.

@Zincy
Any other candidate would have their political career ruined if they did half of what Trump did. Yet he’s kept afloat because of his racist base.

I know several conservatives that are or have already voted for Harris because they refuse to vote for a felon.

One is a tried and true “tough on crime” guy that is as close to a “lawful stupid paladin” in real life so the idea of voting for a criminal is beyond the pale for him.

@Zincy
Yea, we’re seeing more and more republicans turn on Trump

@neutralgrey
Hope you’re right.

Many other candidates have had their political career ruined for doing only ONE of the things that Trump has done.

But Trump’s political campaign is about what Trump does. The people voting for him like that he marginalizes social groups. They like that he refers to other countries as “shit holes”, and accuses America’s allies of being “rapists” and “child smugglers”. They want their president to perform oral sex on microphones, and flock to watch him and support him in massive crowds.

Stop pretending that what Trump is doing is are things that his supporters don’t like or don’t want. They want to be able to do the same kind of ‘social sorting’ that Trump does, and having a candidate saying that anyone who isn’t a white male or someone who is obedient to a white male should suffer, or even be harmed - by the state - that anyone who disagrees and thinks that every legal resident of America should have equal access to the law and that their rights should be defended and enforced by the state - is exactly the message they are looking for and want to hear.

To them, a violent insurrection where police officers are murdered or die in the line of duty trying to defend our government and fair elections is a “love fest” and they wave signs celebrating how much they support police officers and “the blue line”.

To them, setting ballot boxes on fire or literally stealing them is “defending the election”.

And collecting the names of suspected Democratic voters to deny them access to police protection after the election is “constitutional” and “defending America’s core values”.

They want - WANT - the state to monitor women to make sure they don’t have abortions. They want gays and lesbians to no longer be allowed to marry.

They want Loving v. Virginia overturned, and have stacked the SCOTUS to get it done.

They want to ‘seriously amend’ or repeal the 14th amendment. They’ve been trying to do it for a decade and they are getting closer and closer every year.

So … I think you have it wrong.

Trump’s political career would only be HALF of what it is, if he didn’t do the things he does that would ruin anyone else.

If he STOPPED insulting people or DIDN’T have shock comedians shitting on entire swaths of the US population, then he wouldn’t exist or matter any more.

He only matters because he’s an asshole. And some people want an asshole to be the president. And I doubt it’s because they don’t know what Trump will do if re-elected. I really believe it’s because they WANT it.

There have been 4 Iowa polls in the last month.

3 of them were sponsored and endorsed by Republican aligned groups. Red Eagle, Iowans for Tax Reform, and RealClearDefense. They show Trump leading.

The only non-partisan poll in Iowa was the Selzer poll, which is often considered the “gold standard” poll for Iowa because it is 100% focused on the state. They’ve spent the better part of 30 years polling the exact same electorate.

The more I dig into the data, the more I’m actually kinda convinced that it’s not an outlier.

My gut still says Trump will win Iowa, but I think it’ll be by a very slim margin.

@Ciaran
Yet ironically as he is attacking marginalized groups he also makes his supporters feel like one and worthy of the same sympathy that they see blacks getting. Like with a lot of fascism they kinda want to have it both ways. They want the sympathy of being a marginalized group but they also want the sense of power that comes from being the dominant group.

Though from what I’ve seen Trump himself isn’t actually all that relevant, it’s what people project onto him. That’s why the fact he constantly contradicts himself is not a weakness but a strength. Cause people can pick out the parts they like and just project onto him the rest. In many ways Trump is a political avatar like in a video game. Not even him being right wing is solid as I have hard several MAGA folk urging for what is in all reality a communist revolution.
Trump is good in that he gives just enough lip service to the different groups that they can fill in the blacks. It’s why Evangelicals think he’s more religious than anyone else. He gives enough lip service to make it feel possible and social pressure and in group selective memory will do the rest.

Fascism often comes along due to despair or disappointment. When people feel wronged or helpless and want a savior. They want someone to make them feel like they matter and the easiest way to do that is to punch down on others.

Something to look out for tomorrow as election night rolls around:

According to Jamelle Bouie, one bellwether for a likely Harris win will be if Virginia gets called for her before 8 pm Eastern. Will be keeping an eye on that.

Well this is it…

The final hours and moments.

My prediction is that Kamala Harris is going to win. Anyone else feels that way?

@Background Pony #A725
Same.
Things can change though!