The Biden campaign apparently had internal polling that showed Donald Trump was going to win 400 electoral votes at the same time that they were insisting he was a strong candidate.
what should the democrats do differently? for answers we’re looking to one strategist who was personally responsible for their defeat, and a conservative who wants them to lose again
the single best thing Newsom could do to prepare for a Trump Presidency is make it legal to build trains, clean energy, and houses in California without it costing a trillion dollars
Don't over-read takes about "Wokeness" and other idpol shit to explain US elections.
All incumbents suffered due to inflation and economic literacy.
US Dems actually lost least - maybe banally because its post-COVID economic performance was very strong by OECD standards.
I commiserated this morning with Rippling CEO @parkerconrad, a likeminded political soul. He said he was game to put his thoughts on the record.
“My personal view is that a lot of smart people are being very stupid and believe that Trump is going to do THEIR thing,” Conrad texted me. “Tech people think he will usher in new, tech-forward, business friendly environment. Kooky fluoride conspiracy theorists think he’s gonna take care of that thing. Etc.”
That is the rub: which Trump is about to become president?
“I think they will all be disappointed when their faces get ripped off,” Conrad texted. “It’s weird because Trump being elected feels like the end of the world but there are all these very smart people who I like and respect who think it’s gonna be the best thing ever. So, 🤷. I hope they are right.”
My big-picture explanation for Trump’s crushing victory is this:
This wasn’t the 1st post-pandemic election. It was the 2nd COVID presidential election.
You can’t explain Trump’s across-the-board romp without seeing the ways—obvious and subtle—that the pandemic haunted 2024
DO NOT SAY, 'My vote doesn't matter' if you live in a state that is very red or very blue. That's just not true!
Hundreds of millions have been bet on the winner of the popular vote, and those gamblers and speculators are counting on you.
Do your part tomorrow.
I don’t really do endorsements. I’m not shy about sharing my views, but I hate politics and don’t trust most politicians.
I also understand that people want to hear from me because I am not just a celebrity, I am a former Republican Governor.
My time as Governor taught me to love policy and ignore politics. I’m proud of the work I did to help clean up our air, create jobs, balance the budget, make the biggest infrastructure investment in state history, and take power from the politicians and give it back to the people when it comes to our redistricting process and our primaries in California.
That’s policy. It requires working with the other side, not insulting them to win your next election, and I know it isn’t sexy to most people, but I love it when I can help make people’s lives better with policies, like I still do through my institute at USC, where we fight for clean air and stripping the power from the politicians who rig the system against the people.
Let me be honest with you: I don’t like either party right now. My Republicans have forgotten the beauty of the free market, driven up deficits, and rejected election results. Democrats aren’t any better at dealing with deficits, and I worry about their local policies hurting our cities with increased crime.
It is probably not a surprise that I hate politics more than ever, which, if you are a normal person who isn’t addicted to this crap, you probably understand.
I want to tune out.
But I can’t. Because rejecting the results of an election is as un-American as it gets. To someone like me who talks to people all over the world and still knows America is the shining city on a hill, calling America is a trash can for the world is so unpatriotic, it makes me furious.
And I will always be an American before I am a Republican.
That’s why, this week, I am voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
I’m sharing it with all of you because I think there are a lot of you who feel like I do. You don’t recognize our country. And you are right to be furious.
For decades, we’ve talked about the national debt. For decades, we’ve talked about comprehensive immigration reform that secures the border while fixing our broken immigration system. And Washington does nothing.
The problems just keep rolling, and we all keep getting angrier, because the only people that benefit from problems aren’t you, the people. The only people that benefit from this crap are the politicians who prefer having talking points to win elections to the public service that will make Americans’ lives better.
It is a just game to them. But it is life for my fellow Americans. We should be pissed!
But a candidate who won’t respect your vote unless it is for him, a candidate who will send his followers to storm the Capitol while he watches with a Diet Coke, a candidate who has shown no ability to work to pass any policy besides a tax cut that helped his donors and other rich people like me but helped no one else else, a candidate who thinks Americans who disagree with him are the bigger enemies than China, Russia, or North Korea - that won’t solve our problems.
It will just be four more years of bullshit with no results that makes us angrier and angrier, more divided, and more hateful.
We need to close the door on this chapter of American history, and I know that former President Trump won’t do that. He will divide, he will insult, he will find new ways to be more un-American than he already has been, and we, the people, will get nothing but more anger.
That’s enough reason for me to share my vote with all of you. I want to move forward as a country, and even though I have plenty of disagreements with their platform, I think the only way to do that is with Harris and Walz.
Vote this week. Turn the page and put this junk behind us.
And even if you disagree with me, vote, because that’s what we do as Americans. https://t.co/eHFZ723I4H
Average California ballot proposition:
Prop 79 repeals the 1898 Johnson-Driggs Act prohibiting kidney dialysis in littoral zones.
Average New York ballot proposition:
Prop 1 enshrines happiness as a human right.
(Upon passage, Prop 1 will used to block new bike lanes)
I wrote something about being about to have a baby. I guarantee this is the only piece you'll ever read about parenthood that compares it to fucking a sheep: https://t.co/gIHjXyLX3p
I continue to believe that left-wing politicians should focus on lots of little good governance stuff like this rather than splashy new programs. Improving people's average interactions with government will build durable support for the bigger stuff.
Governor Glenn Youngkin has reduced DMV wait times in Virginia by over 70%.
Now he’s going to cut permitting and licensing wait times with a new executive order.
https://t.co/wqdJ10ouEB
If this is true, I can’t wait for the court hearings on whether an AI counts as an AGI or not. New “I know it when I see it” standard incoming? I hope it goes to the Supreme Court.