US Elections 2020 (geopolitics, informed debate, no ad hominems)

Biden

14 (66.7%)

Trump

7 (33.3%)

Total Members Voted: 21

Voting closed: November 02, 2020, 06:25:59 pm

[Alan Klein]

Well that theory hasn't been borne out in the UK with the NHS. Far from it.
The UK has a thriving private sector alongside the public one.

Isn't that only for the people who could afford it? The rest of the hoi polloi get lousy medical care.

[faberryman]

The comments in the WP are obscene.  At least the NY Times moderates them before posting so you get high-class snottiness. Soft-porn.

I am not dumb enough to have read all 262 of them, at last count, but I didn't see anything there that appealed to a prurient interest in sex, but I guess everybody's different. Please don't post any examples because I just finished my lunch.

[JoeKitchen]

Do you really think anybody reads those articles and thinks gee I am really better off than I thought? Not only am I going to change my vote, I think I'll super-size my fries today.

Well, one of the top Google searches currently is "how can I change my vote." 

[LesPalenik]

Well, one of the top Google searches currently is "how can I change my vote."

Interesting, but perplexing. Googling for:

"how can I change my vote" - 2.9B hits

"change vote to Trump" - 402M hits
"change vote to Biden" - 159M hits

"change vote from Trump - 389M hits
"change vote from Biden" - 186M hits

[Robert Roaldi]

There is an overly long personality analysis on Trump over at politico.com today https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/10/29/trumpology-kruse-45-trump-truths-433455. It's possible to be much more succinct.

[Robert Roaldi]

I saw on the interweb (some site or other) that Trump is warning Americans that Biden's Covid restrictions will not allow them to have a Thanksgiving, no Christmas, not even a 4th of July. Reminds of those movies where some guy is yelling at a crowd and threatens to darken the skies, then lo and behold there's an eclipse and the rabble is cowed into submission. With a bit better timing Trump might have been able to pull it off, but alas no eclipse. I'm not looking for great oratory, that's rare, but geez that was lame.

[JoeKitchen]

Interesting, but perplexing. Googling for:

"how can I change my vote" - 2.9B hits

"change vote to Trump" - 402M hits
"change vote to Biden" - 159M hits

"change vote from Trump - 389M hits
"change vote from Biden" - 186M hits

That is a little perplexing. 

[MattBurt]

I saw on the interweb (some site or other) that Trump is warning Americans that Biden's Covid restrictions will not allow them to have a Thanksgiving, no Christmas, not even a 4th of July. Reminds of those movies where some guy is yelling at a crowd and threatens to darken the skies, then lo and behold there's an eclipse and the rabble is cowed into submission. With a bit better timing Trump might have been able to pull it off, but alas no eclipse. I'm not looking for great oratory, that's rare, but geez that was lame.

Didn't you know? Biden is "against god" too. Take it from the guy who steals from his own charitable foundation, that (church-going) Biden character is bad news!

[Manoli]

Isn't that only for the people who could afford it? The rest of the hoi polloi get lousy medical care.

Nope. The rest of the 'hoi polloi' get excellent treatment. Introduced by a Labour government, now revered by both main parties - I can't guarantee what would win any party an election, but I can guarantee that the party who comes to the ballot box on a manifesto of abolishing the NHS, will enjoy an extended stay in opposition - that is for the handful who actually get elected.

[MattBurt]

That is a little perplexing.

Agreed. I think some of it is grammatical confusion too. Those statements are a little ambiguous.

Does "Change vote to ____" mean I want to change my vote I cast for someone else to this person or I want to change my vote I cast for this person to the other one?

[faberryman]

Isn't that only for the people who could afford it? The rest of the hoi polloi get lousy medical care.

You mean like here? At least they get lousy medical and not no medical care.

[James Clark]

Agreed. I think some of it is grammatical confusion too. Those statements are a little ambiguous.

Does "Change vote to ____" mean I want to change my vote I cast for someone else to this person or I want to change my vote I cast for this person to the other one?

There's nothing really going on here... On Oct 27th Trump tweeted that it was trending.  Right after that, interest in the term spiked, immediately fell, and has been trailing off ever since.

Check out the actual Google trendline here.

Here's some extrapolation from Fast Company that explains the (lack of) conclusions anyone should draw from this one data point.

Edit:  If you dig into the other data and the related search data that flows from the Google data I linked, you Trumpy folks will finds some stuff to enjoy.  Searches for things relating to the Hunter Biden nonsense are slamming in the predictable red states like Wyoming and Alabama, but also super high in critical swing states like PA and FL.   

[faberryman]

Well, one of the top Google searches currently is "how can I change my vote."

And you surmise that is because they read one of these CNN or CNBC articles on the internet? Who reading the commie/lib media is going to change their vote to Trump?

[Alan Klein]

Nope. The rest of the 'hoi polloi' get excellent treatment. Introduced by a Labour government, now revered by both main parties - I can't guarantee what would win any party an election, but I can guarantee that the party who comes to the ballot box on a manifesto of abolishing the NHS, will enjoy an extended stay in opposition - that is for the handful who actually get elected.

That's why the Democrats generally do better in elections than Republicans here in the US. They promise more free stuff. Of course the ignorant public thinks free stuff is actually free.  Then when they're broke, out if a job, and the economy stinks because the government has no more money to pay for all that free stuff, they wise up and vote for Republicans to straighten out the mess again.  Trouble is, the Republicans have been like cheap Democrats lately giving out free stuff too but not as much.   They're trying to be like Democrats-lite.  But it won't work.  People will get more free stuff with the Dems so they vote for them. 

[LesPalenik]

Agreed. I think some of it is grammatical confusion too. Those statements are a little ambiguous.

Does "Change vote to ____" mean I want to change my vote I cast for someone else to this person or I want to change my vote I cast for this person to the other one?

Yes, Google may interpret it in an ambiguous way - if you don't enclose the search in quotes.
For example - change vote to Trump would find all searches with those four words. Even if the sentence stated something like: how can I change my vote from Trump to Biden

[faberryman]

That's why the Democrats generally do better in elections than Republicans here in the US. They promise more free stuff. Of course the ignorant public thinks free stuff is actually free.  Then when they're broke, out if a job, and the economy stinks because the government has no more money to pay for all that free stuff, they wise up and vote for Republicans to straighten out the mess again.  Trouble is, the Republicans have been like cheap Democrats lately giving out free stuff too but not as much.   They're trying to be like Democrats-lite.  But it won't work.  People will get more free stuff with the Dems so they vote for them.

Is that your explanation for why Trump won? Trump offered more free stuff than Hillary? Or was it ever so slightly more complicated than that and your sweeping generalization really doesn't hold up after a cursory inspection?

[Alan Klein]

Is that your explanation for why Trump won? Trump offered more free stuff than Hillary? Or was it ever so slightly more complicated than that and your sweeping generalization really doesn't hold up after a cursory inspection?

No.  Trump's an oddball.  He spends like a socialist and taxes like a capitalist. He's opposed to foreign adventures like leftists yet increases military spending like those want on the right.  As a populist outsider, he could have run as a Democrat and gotten the same voters. Dems would have done better with him than Hillary.

[faberryman]

No.  Trump's an oddball.  He spends like a socialist and taxes like a capitalist. He's opposed to foreign adventures like leftists yet increases military spending like those want on the right.  As a populist outsider, he could have run as a Democrat and gotten the same voters. Dems would have done better with him than Hillary.

I don't think Democrats think they are better off with Obamacare under Trump than they would have been under Hillary. So that's another sweeping generalization out the window.

[Alan Goldhammer]

 I still find it amusing that Tucker Carlson's staff did not maintain copies of the documents that will turn things around for the Prez (despite the fact that probably 60% have voted already).  Not to worry though.  The Guardian are right on top of this non-story and note that UPS have found the documents:  https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/oct/29/fox-news-tucker-carlson-mocked-for-lost-in-the-mail-biden-documents-claim

I will wait breathlessly for Craig's report on what these documents have to say!!!  I hope they are not just more trash that has been floating around the Ukraine for the last 18 months.

[faberryman]

I still find it amusing that Tucker Carlson's staff did not maintain copies of the documents that will turn things around for the Prez (despite the fact that probably 60% have voted already).  Not to worry though.  The Guardian are right on top of this non-story and note that UPS have found the documents:  https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/oct/29/fox-news-tucker-carlson-mocked-for-lost-in-the-mail-biden-documents-claim

I will wait breathlessly for Craig's report on what these documents have to say!!!  I hope they are not just more trash that has been floating around the Ukraine for the last 18 months.

Well. I don't know about you, but I am glad to hear that UPS is not in on the cover-up. Or maybe they were and Tucker just caught them red handed and they had to cough up the documents. Anything is possible.

You know what I think? I think Tucker Carlson is secretly pissed UPS found them. But that's just me. Others may have a different opinion.