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PaperclipPerfector  11mo ago (text post)   26475 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of January 15, 2024

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What is the steelman for voting for Trump in the primaries?

He's not a true outsider anymore. He's not an unknown quantity. We know his temperament. We know his governance style. What does he provide over Desantis/Haley/Ramaswamy? He didn't build the wall the first time, why would he do it now?

Because he's better than the alternatives, and has the greatest odds of beating Biden? It does not have to be deeper than that.

He doesn't have the greatest odds of beating Biden (that would be Nikki Haley according to the polls), and he's worse than DeSantis on just about anything where they differ.

I doubt Haley with full exposure would win. She would get some points with independents but lose more with the base. Her unfavorables amongst republicans are getting higher and higher.

I imagine they'd hold their nose and vote for her, generally, unless Trump actively campaigned to see her lose?

Similarly to when Mittens ran, I'd vote third party or write in a spoiled ballot name if Haley is the nominee.

There is the choice of simply not voting.

What are republicans going to do about even if they're unfavourable, let Biden win?

There are some people openly suggesting that they will never vote for Haley and would stay home instead of voting for Biden. It seems insane to me to screw the down-ballot candidates just because you can't stand the top of the ticket, but these are otherwise sensible-sounding voices, so who knows?

I’d vote down ballot but I wouldn’t vote for Haley. She is a bad joke

Those people wouldn't say they would vote for Haley to a polster either, so that's already included in the equation.

My point is not yet — the more people know about Haley the more Never Nikki republicans will become.

Isn't Haley just a weathervane?

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