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Notes -
All of those things (with Trump's age as the only exception) are 100% culture war topics.
Abortion - American's don't have solid positions on Abortion over time or even when asked different questions about it. Part of that is biological ignorance and part of it is that the landscape of laws after Roe vs Wade and certainly after Dobbs is all over the place. A patch work of laws at the state level makes it hard to be on one "side" or the other (which side of a dodecahedron are you on)? A similar situation arises with Gun Laws. So, most Americans respond to polls and surveys about Abortion with very personal vibes based emotionality and/or religiously informed morality. Those are two of the key ingredients of Culture War.
Jan 6 - Literally half of the country does not see this as a major issue when compared to BLM riots of the previous summer while the other half sees it as the most significant domestic terror incident since the 1791 Whiskey Rebellion.
Trump Technically A Criminal - This was mainstream Motte Culture War Thread material before, during, and after the trial.
So still abysmal?
The structural components of the race have always been against the Democrats. In a Presidential election, the Democrat handicap is generally -3 or -4 in the popular vote due to how the electoral college is apportioned. That's why anything less than "Biden / Harris +5" is something like a toss up and "Trump +3" is a HOLY SHIT moment.
I'll allow that Kamala has brought some great
boxed winevibes to the party and is enjoying a not bad start, but do you really think she's bringing structurally potent capability to the campaign? Furthermore, the critical states are Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Please tell me how a BIPOC daughter of two college professors who spent her formative years in Canada before going to college in DC and then living her entire professional life in California is going to make her appeal to rust belt women across three generations? Biden could do it barely.More options
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