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Presidential Election 2024: Margin of Terror

StericaSterica YesRegistered User, Moderator mod
edited November 8 in Social Entropy++
There's three of us
There's three of us
Look closely, you will see
There's three of us
Just three of us
There's him, and you, and she
And everyday we all hang out
To find out what you'll vote about
And every day's a new surprise
when you're voting for us guys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moxIc-_Pdzg

THREAD RULES
Being an election thread, the thread is only here if everyone can behave themselves. The rules are a bit different from standard fare to try and keep things from descending into shitfests.

1. If you feel someone is arguing in bad faith, then report them. We don't need a 10-person dogpile clogging up the thread to prove that. Also please provide context for your reports, because it's not always obvious and I don't have everyone's history memorized.
2. If you stir up stupid forum rivalry then I will just ban you from the thread. This goes both ways, but I will be especially annoyed at people who are clearly bumbling in here trying to start shit.
3. No Electoralism, period. Do not lecture people on how they vote; it's not going to change the general thrust of American politics dramatically either way. Mankind is dead. Blood is fuel. Hell is full.
4. You are free to still criticize a campaign's strategy. If you wanna say maybe Harris needs to promote a little baby eating to get the necessary votes to avoid the most embarrassing fascism, then go for it.
5. Report any bigotry, and please do not engage with those kinds of posts. If you feel something is being masked behind a dogwhistle or other plausible, then please use your report to explain why you feel it's hate speech. Racists and other assholes are developing new and stupid shibboleths at frightful speed thanks to social media, and it can be difficult to keep up. Err on the side of being more informative than less.
6. No Doomsday talk. Shit sucks and panicking doesn't help things. Now shitposting is excepted if you're funny enough.
7. I reserve the right to pull the plug on this thread if you all manage to generate more reports than D&D.

Joe "Loan on the Range" Biden
President of the United States
Old

Pros: He's not Trump, so he'll continue the extremely slow wheel of progress in some areas, while simply offering neoliberal compromise on other issues like foreign policy.
Cons: Inflation is still rampant, and he's going to be blamed for it because he can't admit corporations are discussing price hikes as inflationary increases. That's capitalism, baby! He also is having severe issues courting the left, as he tries half-assed methods to alleviate student loan debt and tries juggling issues like the Palestinian genocide. Turns out saying genocide is bad but giving your buddy a check to keep doing a genocide is not a great look for like...anyone on either side. It's not helping that his age is a constant issue, and him just appearing tired or tripping over his words only exacerbates the issue. You can make excuses, but "it's his stutter" is not swaying people these days. His abysmal debate with Trump has only exacerbated the issue, with many prominent Dems now deciding whoopsie he needs to go. Train fetish could be a detriment if the Thomas the Tank/Amtrak fics ever leak to the public.


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Kamala “Girlboss Gatekeep Genocide” Harris
Vice-President of the United States
Sixty Years Old


Pros: Has gotten a wellspring of support and general good vibes by not being a decrepit white man. Can give a coherent speech and offers a bit more enthusiasm for people to rally around. Got shitloads of donations from everyone to relieved people and relieved megadonors. Gets a pseudo-incumbency advantage by being part of the current administration, and will be able to inherit Biden’s warchest. Is outspending the Trump campaign by a fairly serious margin, being tied up in PA and outspending him practically everywhere else. Something something joy.
Cons: Has been part of the current administration during iffy economic times. Jobs are good, but inflation is bad and people tend to just blame the current administration. The liberal urge to be a diet fascist has kicked in, which includes being wishy-washy on more left-leaning policy and courting ghouls like the Cheneys. This makes her platform frustratingly squishy and lacking in substance. And of course this also applies to the Middle East, where she's basically deciding between sending more bombs or all the bombs to Israel so Bibi can ensure every living thing in Gaza is reduced to atoms. This has caused a considerable schism among would-be democratic voters, particularly among Muslims who find her commitment to a ceasefire maaaaaay not be all that compelling considering in the same speech she considers the IDF's need to slaughter Gazan children as "self-defense". Basically, a cop in a pussy hat.

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Donald "The Trashman" Trump
Former President of the United States
Seventy-Eight Years Old


Pros: Economy is still not great, and post-Covid chaos could show him as a nostalgic calmer period before now...so long as you ignore Covid starting under his term but voters never had good memory! The strongman personae also has considerable swing with a depressing percentage of the electorate. Has a whole media machine at his back to spin lies into campaign issues. Racism and cruelty always sell.
Cons: Dude has never won the popular vote, and relying on our shitty electoral system for victory is not where you want your campaign strategy to start. Is in court for a number of crimes, and he's paying for it through campaign contributions. On a related note, he has a very meager ground game and is being outspent 2:1 or more by Harris in every state outside of PA and NC. While more animated than Biden, he's showing fatigue: falling asleep in public, tripping over his words more than usual, and other flubs that will now put a spotlight on his age with Biden gone. The second first debate did not go well for him, with him ranting racist lies about immigrants eating pets. The abortion issue is a tight needle to thread, as he risks galvanizing pro-choice voters by leaning too hard into anti-abortion rhetoric, or he risks alienating the anti-choice by not leaning hard enough. Given how Dobbs is largely attributed to turning the midterms into an embarrassment for Republicans and causing state/local losses in the off-season, this again is not a good position to be in. Held a Nazi rally a week prior to the election, because he couldn't keep a lid on the watermelon jokes for another few days. Low energy.

Battlegrounds

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This is the big one. While both candidates can win without it, you're talking an uphill battle. It also takes longer to count the votes as it allows fairly last-minute mail-in ballots, so barring a blowout expect to wait a few days to learn the winner!

There's others, namely North Carolina, Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, Wisconsin, and the Big Bopper, but it's all second banana to PA. Go vote or eat a sandwich or make a funny post.

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Sterica on
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Posts

  • StericaSterica Yes Registered User, Moderator mod
    From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free.

    And, as always, fuck the police.

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  • Houk the NamebringerHouk the Namebringer Nipples The EchidnaRegistered User regular
    I hate the electoral college so fucking much

  • agoajagoaj Top Tier One FearRegistered User regular
    I do not want to hear about Faithless Electors again no matter who wins.

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  • LanzLanz ...Za?Registered User regular
    edited October 30
    I need to dig through it to find again, but seen some folks interpreting some shit Trump said at his Madison Square Garden rally as indicative that the GOP may try to pull vote nullification shit with enough chaos to to invoke the house’s “everything else broke down” constitutional capacity to decide the president

    Lanz on
  • CoinageCoinage Heaviside LayerRegistered User regular
    Just let me die

    Happiness is within reach!
  • JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    Lanz wrote: »
    I need to dig through it to find again, but seen some folks interpreting some shit Trump said at his Madison Square Garden rally as indicative that the GOP may try to pull vote nullification shit with enough chaos to to invoke the house’s “everything else broke down” constitutional capacity to decide the president

    pretty well specced out here

    https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/10/20/trump-overturn-2024-election-plan-00184103?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

    unless harris wins by substantial margins this thing is at least going to court, and, well, you can read the rest

    this is a discord of mostly PA people interested in fighting games: https://discord.gg/DZWa97d5rz

    we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
  • ThawmusThawmus +Jackface Registered User regular
    Goddammit I have gone like 4 weeks without thinking about DHMIS and 4 minutes without thinking about the election.

    If you would be so kind as to close the lid after I get in?

    Twitch: Thawmus83
  • ProhassProhass Registered User regular
    edited October 30
    Shit this is in SE now?
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    Prohass on
  • MagellMagell Detroit Machine Guns Fort MyersRegistered User regular
    This is convenient because I missed like 800 posts in the DnD one while on vacation and don't care to catch up. Love that new thread smell.

  • JragghenJragghen Registered User regular
    I'll probably be mostly intentionally staying out of this thread, but if i can give one piece of advice: ignore polls.

    Polls were fucked in 2016 and 2020. Polls were fucked in OTHER ways in 2018. Polls were fucked in a DIFFERENT way in 2022. Time will only tell on this one, but 2024's story seems to be "HORSE RACE" and weird-as-shit weightings of urban/suburban/rural voters. The long and short of it is people don't answer their phones anymore and polling itself is broken.

    Similarly, don't pay attention to ballot counts. Yes, some county somewhere has x number of absentee ballots out and ooh boy Y% of them are people between the age of 22.5 and 26 and THIS MEANS THINGS.

    There actually can be info to be parsed from all the above, but the effort is meaningless - even if your extrapolation is right a) would you do anything different, and b) you're not employed by a campaign so it's not your job to have this bullshit.

    All you're doing is stressing yourself out. Don't.


    Also this entire post is directed at me because if i say it enough times maybe I'll actually believe it and stick to it.

  • ChicoBlueChicoBlue Registered User regular
    I already voted.

  • JarsJars Registered User regular
    I plan to vote on election day. I will, again, try to throw claudia tenny out of office because she sucks shit

  • MagellMagell Detroit Machine Guns Fort MyersRegistered User regular
    I don't have a whole lot of hope of getting any mediocre Dems into office in Florida, but hopefully we can continue the trend of passing progressive legislation to legalize abortion, or at least stop them criminalizing it.

  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    ChicoBlue wrote: »
    I already voted.

    Yeah, dropping mine off in the morning. Split ticket with Dem and Progressive since we have a functioning Progressive party in Vermont.

  • durandal4532durandal4532 Registered User regular
    I had a great doorknock yesterday, a guy who was working on his car in the driveway and when I asked if we could count on him to vote Harris/Dems downballot he said ‘yeah of course, we’re not communists.’

    Then as I was walking away I hear him say ‘wait, fascists! We’re not fascists, dangit’

    Also got to clarify some voting procedure stuff for people which always feels good.

    We're all in this together
  • facetiousfacetious a wit so dry it shits sandRegistered User regular
    "Girlboss Gatekeep Genocide" is really funny.

    I mean, it's not. It's utterly horrific that this is the reality in which we find ourselves.

    But

    if that's how it's gonna be at least we can appreciate clever ways of acknowledging it.

    "I am not young enough to know everything." - Oscar Wilde
    Real strong, facetious.

    Steam: Chagrin LoL: Bonhomie
  • Captain InertiaCaptain Inertia Central OhioRegistered User regular
    ChicoBlue wrote: »
    I already voted.

    How is this legal

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  • JuggernutJuggernut Registered User regular
    I'm gonna see if I can go early vote tomorrow.

    SC has a truly depressing ballot. The only dem candidates for anything are the presidency. Everything else is republican or write in.

    So, since my actual vote doesn't matter and this election will once again come down to a few states I've never lived in, I'm mostly going to vote against this bullshit:
    Must Section 4, Article II of the Constitution of this State, relating to voter qualifications, be amended so as to provide that only a citizen of the United States and of this State of the age of eighteen and upwards who is properly registered is entitled to vote as provided by law?

    They are literally changing one word: every to only. It's, at its most generous, performance politics meant to make the chittering, pearl clutching little Fox News gibbons hoop and holler and fling their shit. But really it's about incrementally changing the language to be exclusionary in an attempt to broaden the definition of who can't vote. Because the GOP's game plan is basically win by disqualification.

    Love the American democratic process.

  • BrainleechBrainleech 機知に富んだコメントはここにあります Registered User regular
    I voted by mail because I could and I wanted to avoid the city's/county/states' BS voting {You need the real id not the state issued ID to vote in person}
    There was a lot of bond issues up as well as they do not print the party affiliation on the ballot [they do a TLDR of the bond issue but leave out all the lawyer wet dream aspects of it}

  • Raijin QuickfootRaijin Quickfoot I'm your Huckleberry YOU'RE NO DAISYRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    I’ll go in and vote next week. Living in a small, conservative town means I can vote any time and it won’t take but a minute.

  • HobnailHobnail Registered User regular
    Vote true no matter who

    Do you like my photos? The stupid things I say? The way I am alive? You can contribute to that staying the same through the following link

    https://www.paypal.me/hobnailtaylor
  • XaquinXaquin Right behind you!Registered User regular
    Juggernut wrote: »
    I'm gonna see if I can go early vote tomorrow.

    SC has a truly depressing ballot. The only dem candidates for anything are the presidency. Everything else is republican or write in.

    So, since my actual vote doesn't matter and this election will once again come down to a few states I've never lived in, I'm mostly going to vote against this bullshit:
    Must Section 4, Article II of the Constitution of this State, relating to voter qualifications, be amended so as to provide that only a citizen of the United States and of this State of the age of eighteen and upwards who is properly registered is entitled to vote as provided by law?

    They are literally changing one word: every to only. It's, at its most generous, performance politics meant to make the chittering, pearl clutching little Fox News gibbons hoop and holler and fling their shit. But really it's about incrementally changing the language to be exclusionary in an attempt to broaden the definition of who can't vote. Because the GOP's game plan is basically win by disqualification.

    Love the American democratic process.

    I thought you were in NC!

  • ThawmusThawmus +Jackface Registered User regular
    I'm crossing my fingers for Dan Osborn and hoping that Deb Fischer gets the boot.

    I'm also crossing my fingers on the six....fucking.....six ballot initiatives in Nebraska this year, including some really confusing language on an anti-abortion measure (434) and abortion rights measure (439). The signs people put in their yards to vote for or against either do not bother to tell you which one is which. I fucking hate it.

    I'm not holding my breath on most of the other races. Ricketts is gonna win, as are R's for the House. Would love to see Adrian Smith eat shit sometime, I've done my best to heckle him in person and tell people his phone doesn't work and he doesn't care about his constituents, the few times he's been in my town. Like, seriously, you cannot call him. For the entirety of his time in office, his phones flatly do not work.

    Twitch: Thawmus83
  • Kane Red RobeKane Red Robe Master of Magic ArcanusRegistered User regular
    We turned in our absentee ballots a couple days back as we're flying to California on Saturday to attend a funeral on Sunday and are staying a few days after that to visit la familia. I think we're going to take the kiddos to Disneyland on actual election day to keep me from doomscrolling all day.

  • JuggernutJuggernut Registered User regular
    Xaquin wrote: »
    Juggernut wrote: »
    I'm gonna see if I can go early vote tomorrow.

    SC has a truly depressing ballot. The only dem candidates for anything are the presidency. Everything else is republican or write in.

    So, since my actual vote doesn't matter and this election will once again come down to a few states I've never lived in, I'm mostly going to vote against this bullshit:
    Must Section 4, Article II of the Constitution of this State, relating to voter qualifications, be amended so as to provide that only a citizen of the United States and of this State of the age of eighteen and upwards who is properly registered is entitled to vote as provided by law?

    They are literally changing one word: every to only. It's, at its most generous, performance politics meant to make the chittering, pearl clutching little Fox News gibbons hoop and holler and fling their shit. But really it's about incrementally changing the language to be exclusionary in an attempt to broaden the definition of who can't vote. Because the GOP's game plan is basically win by disqualification.

    Love the American democratic process.

    I thought you were in NC!

    No! I'm in the more souther one

  • MulysaSemproniusMulysaSempronius but also susie nyRegistered User regular
    The third party I like around here tends to have the Democrat on their ticket for major races. There are a few, notable exceptions (like back when some Democrats caucused with Republicans, and they refused to have them on their ticket).
    So I usually just go straight Working Families Party. I side-eye any Democrat not on their ticket, and think extra hard about that race.

    If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing
  • HacksawHacksaw J. Duggan Esq. Wrestler at LawRegistered User regular
    Absolutely nothing is going to get done at my place of work next week. Everyone is going to be nervously checking their phones instead of focusing on getting our show ready, I just know it. We're slated to leave after 8 hours (normally we'd be working 10s this far into the production schedule), but someone upstairs wisely cut the hours down so people wouldn't be doomscrolling in the bathroom once the polls close.

  • never dienever die Registered User regular
    I have all of next week off thankfully. So I’m just gonna go vote and chill and…see what happens.

  • SnowbearSnowbear Registered User regular
    Gonna fill out ballots tonight and probably drop them off at the voting location nearby.

    Unfortunately Chicago has like 90 judges on the ballot so it's gonna take foreverr

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  • Captain InertiaCaptain Inertia Central OhioRegistered User regular
    Top article on work intranet today is announcing that our EAP provider has an election toolkit to compile resources for people dealing with anxiety over it

    This isn’t a healthy way to democracy huh

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  • JuggernutJuggernut Registered User regular
    Every election being the single most important election of our lives where upon the Grand Experiment is preserved for another few, fragile years or the whole thing is broken and burned is completely fine what are you talking about

  • Captain InertiaCaptain Inertia Central OhioRegistered User regular
    My b

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  • furlionfurlion Riskbreaker Lea MondeRegistered User regular
    The 2020 election my wife and i voted the Saturday before and waited 3 hours and 40 minutes in line. I started a timer on my phone and i still have a screenshot of it saved. Hopefully this year will be shorter but i will stand there all fucking day before i don't vote.

    sig.gif Gamertag: KL Retribution
    PSN:Furlion
  • BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User, Moderator mod
    Special note that if this thread becomes annoying to moderate we're killing it immediately

    BahamutZERO.gif
  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    Can we get that for the actual election, too?

  • Captain InertiaCaptain Inertia Central OhioRegistered User regular
    Special note that if this thread becomes annoying to moderate we're killing it immediately

    Define annoying because…..

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  • Knight_Knight_ Dead Dead Dead Registered User regular
    Juggernut wrote: »
    Every election being the single most important election of our lives where upon the Grand Experiment is preserved for another few, fragile years or the whole thing is broken and burned is completely fine what are you talking about

    interesting times and all that

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  • BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User, Moderator mod
    Special note that if this thread becomes annoying to moderate we're killing it immediately

    Define annoying because…..

    no

    BahamutZERO.gif
  • MegaMan001MegaMan001 CRNA Rochester, MNRegistered User regular
    I'm gonna get real real high on election day, after voting, and depending on how that night goes I'm saving an occurrence to call in on Thursday.

    I am in the business of saving lives.
This discussion has been closed.