2020 U.S. Presidential elections

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Pamela]

I consider the responses to Texas Gov. Abbott’s tweets prescient — Look at the responses to this typical one:

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

Thank you for telling that nutless wonder that is my senior senator the truth even if its way politer than anything he deserves.

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

I consider the responses to Texas Gov. Abbott’s tweets prescient — Look at the responses to this typical one:

Its already dying. Under a republican government.

 

[Sovereignty]

The only reason we’re sweating this election at all is because of what we may not know about vote tampering and suppression efforts. There is nothing else that indicates this race is close.

Voter suppression and tampering are good enough reasons for me. Also, the question is not whether it is close or not but what is the risk. The possibility of another four years of Trump makes it too close for me.

I don't care what any poll or model says. I will act the same way and I hope others do, too.

Zeynep Tufekci (somebody or other who gets a lot of attention) complains about the horserace news coverage of elections. I agree. I'm not sitting back and watching a race. I am voting.

It seems that one could argue that either optimism or defeatism could discourage voters. Since we need action, I want people to feel like the race is close--if that's how they want to think of the election. Let it be a close race. Good. It promotes action.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

 

[Salome]

Voter suppression and tampering are good enough reasons for me.

Reasons for what?

Also, the question is not whether it is close or not but what is the risk.

No one‘s debating the risk. I take issue with the false narrative that there is any evidence to believe this race is close. Especially when the person doing so quoted the only source that accurately warned about Trump’s possible victory in 2016.

Since we need action, I want people to feel like the race is close--if that's how they want to think of the election. Let it be a close race. Good. It promotes action.

There’s no proof for any of this. But I’m tired of trying to argue against feelings masquerading as facts. You do you.

 

[Sid]

Polls are never ever facts either.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

There's a difference between "sufficiently close that I feel reasonably confident about the outcome" and "sufficiently close that, despite the gravity of the situation, I won't bother to do what little I can to ensure a positive outcome".

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

 

[Veritable Quandry]

I repeat myself...

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

There's a difference between "sufficiently close that I feel reasonably confident about the outcome" and "sufficiently close that, despite the gravity of the situation, I won't bother to do what little I can to ensure a positive outcome".

Yeah but I literally know people, as in by name, who thought the idea of a President Trump was horrible but who didn't bother to vote in 2016 because the media and their polls made it sound like too much of a longshot to worry about.

 

[Beebo Brink]

In Scranton, Biden’s team turns out voters, while Trump supporters turn up the volume

She supported Trump in 2016 and said that her husband, who worked in construction, had a huge surge in business since Trump took office because of the “booming” economy. Of the four people in her group, she was the only one who voted last time.

Larry Stange, 61, reinforced how important it was that most of the group hadn’t.

“I’ve talked to — it’s not like I see a lot of people, but I think a representative sampling is that there are a lot of people who hadn’t voted before,” Stange said when I asked what he thought might happen. “I think it’s signified in — you know, Trump, if the numbers are right in rallies, it looks like close to 50 percent of people at a Trump rally either didn’t vote in 2016 or didn’t vote for him in 2016. I’m actually seeing that in the people that I talk to. I’m seeing a lot of that.”

 

[Soen Eber]

I'm the only person in this group who thought Clinton would lose because moderate R's were hungry enough for Supreme Court picks to overlook whazisname's multiple red flags - and her coastal eliteism being so patronizing.

I will continue to be nervous until January 21st, or until he flees to a country with no extradition treaty.

And yes, I also still worry about him winning through violence. There is no other election-related reason I can think of for his courting of the alt-right other than to have his own personal freikorps / stahlhelm.

 

[Salome]

There's a difference between "sufficiently close that I feel reasonably confident about the outcome" and "sufficiently close that, despite the gravity of the situation, I won't bother to do what little I can to ensure a positive outcome".

Aye. There’s also a difference between tried and true methods of seeking information put out for peer review with methods posted for transparency and “feelings.”

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Yeah but I literally know people, as in by name, who thought the idea of a President Trump was horrible but who didn't bother to vote in 2016 because the media and their polls made it sound like too much of a longshot to worry about.

They had clearly misjudged the two degrees of confidence, then, or confused the two.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

They had clearly misjudged the two degrees of confidence, then, or confused the two.

Yes. In a word (or two): Red Guy.

 

[Salome]

Marc Elias is not tired of winning lol

 

[Innula Zenovka]

It's also a different question this time round, of course. In 2016, it was, how likely is Trump to be elected, and, if God forbid, he wins, how bad can he be?"

Well, he was, and now we at least know how bad he's been for the last four years, and the question is, how anxious am I to do whatever I can to avoid finding out how much worse he can get?

For what it's worth, I've always seen voting as expressing assent or dissent as much as anything else. Even if the effect is only symbolic, I think it's important to be able to say to yourself that you did what little you could to avert the result, should the worst come to the worst and the wrong side loses.