freshcow
Obviously to target those that are politically inconvenient to you. Or perhaps as a favor / quid pro quo for one of your rich buddies. Or maybe as revenge for pissing him off. You could pretty much guarantee these scenarios if Trump had this ability. And honestly he doesn’t even need to care about any of it, he just needs some conservative think tank to give him a hit list.
Harris got a huge spike in popularity initially because she was NOT Biden. She then spent the remainder of her campaign explaining how she would be Biden exactly but less old, as well as trying to reach to the right. Her polling steadily trailed off as people realized it would be more of the same. If she had the courage to differentiate herself publicly in any way, (ESPECIALLY with respect to Gaza) we might be having a different conversation.
I think that’s a great way to look at it. I’m hoping we can get some better leadership in the democratic party willing to listen to people and offer fresh ideas instead of taking the “if you don’t vote for me then you’re hitler” approach.
Leaning to the right didn’t work for Harris. We need someone to energize the base by offering meaningful change.
Good analysis. You also should understand that Americans are HEAVILY propagandized, since most of our major media outlets are also captured by the same corporate interests that bribe our politicians. Critiques of capitalism are de facto not allowed, because that would be bad for business. (Not to mention the previous decades of cold war era “red scare” nonsense the older generations grew up with) As a result, many democrats don’t know how to receive criticism from the left, and can’t even conceive that there might be a different path besides “status quo” and “conservative hellscape”.
Pretty big assumption that “leftist” concessions would only appeal to self-identified leftists. Leftist policies happen to be massively popular. Ask any senior citizen if they want to give up their social security and medicare. Also, you’ll notice that Harris had her biggest boost initially in polling when everyone was excited for the nominee to be NOT Biden. She has since continued to talk about how she’s going to be Biden exactly, but less old, and her numbers have been steadily declining. It’s clear that Biden’s policies, (and not just his age) are important factors. People are eager for change - which almost always comes from challenging the status quo from the left.
Or: unironically blaming it on a democrat-controlled weather machine
Get his ass!