2024 US Presidential Elections Megathread

[grumbler]

Isn't this an obvious example of woke activism impacting on people and dragging down the Dems with it?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitol_Hill_Occupied_Protest

Doesn't seem so obvious given that the Democrats won the presidential and House elections that year.

[Tamas]

Another problem in the "woke" theory is how do you explain why the Democrats won in 2020 in the wake of the massive BLM protests?  Why did the GOP underperform so badly in 2022, arguably the woke high tide?  Why only in 2024, with woke rhetoric on the decline and the party leadership actively de-emphasizing it, did voters turn suddenly against Democrats?

Anti-incumbency.

2020 Trump was the incumbent so he wore the BLM protests.  2022 I'm not so sure about the GOP underperforming - they seemed to do pretty well (and of course were not the incumbents).

2024 Harris had a large headwind against her being closely tied to the incumbent.  She needed every advantage going her way, and wokeism wasn't helping.

In your opinion what were the wokeist elements either in her campaign or in public life associated with her party?

[grumbler]

In retrospect, I think that the better Democratic strategy may have been the platform of "we already have given you everything Trump promises, except for the border, where he vetoed our plan."

The problem that the Democrats had was that the average voter didn't understand how well off they (finally) were, so were vulnerable to the ridiculous claim that "America is broken and only Trump can fix it.".

[Zoupa]

I see Trump got less total votes than in 2020, but Harris did even worse. I guess it's all about turn out.

[Barrister]

In your opinion what were the wokeist elements either in her campaign or in public life associated with her party?

Well she was stung by the allegations that she was a "DEI hire", because it was true in a way.  Biden made her his VP precisely because she was a black woman.

Not it's not to say she was unqualified - she was a senator from a major state, state DA before that.  But it kind of sticks to some people.

Then I conceded her campaign stayed very far away from those kind of themes.  She never talked about being the first woman President.  But the wider stuff in the left-wing ecosystem which she didn't endorse, but didn't distance herself either.

[Solmyr]

I'm not talking about a certain number of people, I am talking about DGuller who I thought was smart but who seems convinced "wokeism" exists.

So when you hear someone you consider smart saying something you disagree with, your instinct is to no longer regard them as smart?  Personally my instinct is "if a smart person is saying something I disagree with, maybe I can learn from them".

No, my instinct is that I've seen so much whining about "wokism" (meaning absolutely anything that person does not like), that it's hard for me to take seriously anyone using that term.

[DGuller]

In your opinion what were the wokeist elements either in her campaign or in public life associated with her party?

Well she was stung by the allegations that she was a "DEI hire", because it was true in a way.  Biden made her his VP precisely because she was a black woman.

Not it's not to say she was unqualified - she was a senator from a major state, state DA before that.  But it kind of sticks to some people.

Then I conceded her campaign stayed very far away from those kind of themes.  She never talked about being the first woman President.  But the wider stuff in the left-wing ecosystem which she didn't endorse, but didn't distance herself either.

I also think that Shapiro was out of the running as veep because he was an outspoken pro-Israel Jew, so that's another area where wokedom had some influence influence.  Anti-Israeli sentiment isn't just a woke phenomenon, but it definitely has wokedom on its side, with all the usual selective standards of justice applied.

[DGuller]

I'm not talking about a certain number of people, I am talking about DGuller who I thought was smart but who seems convinced "wokeism" exists.

So when you hear someone you consider smart saying something you disagree with, your instinct is to no longer regard them as smart?  Personally my instinct is "if a smart person is saying something I disagree with, maybe I can learn from them".

No, my instinct is that I've seen so much whining about "wokism" (meaning absolutely anything that person does not like), that it's hard for me to take seriously anyone using that term.

I have a feeling that you have a hard time taking seriously anyone who thinks differently from you.  The reasons may be situational, but the outcome will be the same.

[Legbiter]

I see Trump got less total votes than in 2020, but Harris did even worse. I guess it's all about turn out.

Yeah here is Texas for instance.



You can clearly see Valmy's house.   

[FunkMonk]

Sheilbh was correct. Man got battered in here but he was right. Should've had a primary.

[Valmy]

That is such a horrible result for us. This election was a disaster for the Texas Democratic Party. Most of the progress we made over the past decade was washed away and it is because we bombed the Hispanic vote. I have no idea why, obviously this was a problem 4 and 2 years ago but this was on a different level.

[Caliga]

That is such a horrible result for us. This election was a disaster for the Texas Democratic Party. Most of the progress we made over the past decade was washed away and it is because we bombed the Hispanic vote. I have no idea why, obviously this was a problem 4 and 2 years ago but this was on a different level.

I already answered the question as to why earlier in this thread.  Hispanic voters don't respond to identity politics.  The Republicans convinced everyone the economy was doing badly, and voters who tend to be poorer don't have the energy to care about idealistic things like trans rights, affirmative action, and so on.  They want someone who promises them that they'll be able to pay their bills.  Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, dude.

[frunk]

North Carolina actually came out of this better, but that's only because we were in such a deep hole.  Democrats kept the Governorship and the veto proof Republican Congress has been broken.

[garbon]

Sheilbh was correct. Man got battered in here but he was right. Should've had a primary.

Sure we can just spout random things but this isn't really an alt hist fan site.

[Solmyr]

I'm not talking about a certain number of people, I am talking about DGuller who I thought was smart but who seems convinced "wokeism" exists.

So when you hear someone you consider smart saying something you disagree with, your instinct is to no longer regard them as smart?  Personally my instinct is "if a smart person is saying something I disagree with, maybe I can learn from them".

No, my instinct is that I've seen so much whining about "wokism" (meaning absolutely anything that person does not like), that it's hard for me to take seriously anyone using that term.

I have a feeling that you have a hard time taking seriously anyone who thinks differently from you.  The reasons may be situational, but the outcome will be the same.

Not really, no. Just people who complain about "woke".