Tuesday, September 10, 2024
THE 2024 LANDSLIDE - PART II: THE DEBATE
WHY AND HOW
KAMALA HARRIS
AND THE DEMOCRATS
CAN WIN A LANDSLIDE
UP AND DOWN THE BALLOT
IN 2024
PART II: DEALING WITH THE DEBATE
SEE PART I:
https://qporit.blogspot.com/2024/08/2024-landslide-why-how.html
==>> UPDATE 2024-09-10
A few quick post-debate updates:
Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala.
Donald Trump emphatically stated that he believes he won the 2020 election.
Kamala looked happy and confident. She made her points. She rattled Trump.
Trump rambled and lied and lied and lied and insulted everything American he could mention.
Trump refused to say he believed that Ukraine should win the war.
Kamala was clear that failing to defend Ukraine would put Poland at risk.
Trump offered the authoritarian leader of Hungary as a character reference.
Trump was clear that had no plan to improve health care. In fact, he had no plan for any issue at all.
Trump said that people are eating other people's dogs. (He really said that, even when contradicted by the Moderator,)
Kamala was very clear that she would be looking out for the welfare of all Americans, and was looking to improve the lives of Americans in very practical ways.
A few quick post-debate editorial comments:
Kamala did very well in the debate. She looked good, confident, and Presidential. This will continue the momentum of her campaign.
For the most part, she did exactly what she needed to do. I do believe, as I said below, that Kamala would do well to amplify her plans to boost the promises of future technology, avoid its hazards, and make sure its benefits are made available to all Americans. This would, I believe, assist her campaign among males, VC's, investors, & technologists, young voters, and everyone else.
Trump did badly, probably lost a significant number of voters and media commentators, probably made no new supporters.
I can say, personally, that Trump lied when he claimed that all Democrats supported the reversal of Roe v Wade.
For me, the most disturbing moment was when Trump said (insisted!) he won the 2020 election. I am fearful for what new methods he and his supporters will use to try to prevent a free and fair election, and the certification of the actual results. Even more troublesome is that for him to deny the rightful result of the election at this point is delusional, and therefor dangerous, disqualifying, and profoundly anti-American. I do not believe any supporter of such a disturbed human, nor such a demented person themself, should be any where near the leadership of this country.
==>> END UPDATE 2024-09-10
* * * * *
Since the
first Kennedy-Nixon debate, it has become clear that the “debate” is not really
a debate. It is a reality show, very similar to the knockoff climax of each
episode of the Apprentice, when leaders of the two groups would try to prove
that they – whether or not they had - objectively - the best results – were the
person NOT to get fired.
Trump,
himself an unsuccessful apprentice at being President, nevertheless had years
of experience, experimenting with the best way to succeed at this type of
event. His manner at his “debate” experiences against Hillary and Biden, shows
that he learned that being the loudest, the most forceful, and the most
aggressive works fairly well, for him. Telling the truth doesn’t matter much.
In fact, the
most important factors in the Presidential “debate” have proved to be (in
order!):
Critical:
1. Whether you made any kind of a serious error.
2. How good you look - looking good, strong & “Presidential” is a requirement.
3. How you sound - sounding strong & confident helps.
4. Whether you have a good one-liner that the press can repeat over and over in their “analysis” of the event.
Much less
important:
5a - Whether you told the truth accurately (note: lying on
purpose is deemed less serious than making an unintentional serious error),
and/or
5b - how well you called out false statements by the other
person.
6 6 -
(and more or less last) - Whether you demonstrated or exhibited the experience,
knowledge and plans to be a successful President, who could and would run the
government well.
This is, by
the way, a strange list of priorities, which read from bottom to top as a much better
way to evaluate a candidate for the Presidency.
In the
recent debate between Biden and Trump, if you analyze the text of the answers,
Biden showed greater Presidential abilities. He was savaged by makeup that was
too pale, camera angles that showed his head smaller than Trump’s on the
screen, and that often caught him looking down or away from the camera and not directly at it; and a mic
that needed higher volume amplification. Remnants of Biden’s lifelong
stuttering, on his attempts to answer questions with a complex and thoughtful
analysis, was not a match for Trump’s high volume, high velocity torrent of
insults and lies, ignoring the questions that were asked.
Several
things have happened in past debates that should be noted and combatted.
First, as suggested
above, it is essential that Kamala’s team make sure her mic is loud, her tone
rich, her hair and makeup is on point, her lighting is good, and the producer
who selects the camera shots shows her looking good. She should usually be looking
at the camera, the questioner, or at Trump; and the camera shot should show
that.
By the way, in
past debates. Trump has moved around a lot; and has talked loudly and with such
a barrage of lies, that responding concisely – or at all! – becomes difficult. It is really a positive, I think, that the mic
is muted when it is not a person’s time to speak. It could be impossible for
Kamala to speak if Trump simply interrupted her every time she tried to speak. Since
it is on-brand for T, it might really not matter how vile that is.
Kamala must
come out looking like a Presidential winner; and leave looking like a Debate And
Presidential winner.
In debates
in the past, Trump has stated that he would not accept the results of the
election; that he believes his opponent should be jailed. He also, when asked
to condemn violent groups, instead told them to “stand by”. If he says anything
like this, Kamala must be ready to deliver a “killer” response.
Trump lies.
Too often to be corrected completely.
Kamala must have a good response to Trump’s lies. Pete Buttigieg has been
very effective on Fox, simply overwhelming the question with facts. Here, the
time constraints must be taken into account, in preparing a response in
advance.
Trump has
several favorite issues: the economy; the border; the Afghanistan withdrawal.
Trump is actually very vulnerable on each of these issues, Kamala’s response must
be definitive.
With some
help from a political comedian, T’s frequent habit of using childish, lazy, extremal
debating cliches, like “everybody knows…”
“the worst/greatest in American history… “ “embarrassing… ” , could be destroyed
and turned into a source of ridicule forever.
The violence,
the threats to the election process, the cultivation of domestic terrorists, fascists
and neo-Nazis, the support for Dictators, and for a Day One Dictatorship, and the
detailed, terrible plans laid out in Project 2025, must be called out quickly
and demolished in a way that resonates.
I believe that “dangerous” and “delusional” and “dishonest” and “disloyal”
and “unfit to be Commander in Chief” and even unAmerican, can be added to “weird”
as a concise characterization of Trump’s threat to the country.
Of course,
in the event that the moderators have “control” of the event, and they really
try to get important insights and answers on policy, it is vital to have the
best sounding and the most logical answers for the basic policy questions.
Kamala’s
current best issues are well known, and they veer toward the issues that most middle-class
households find important. That is the base of her support, and she must cement
that.
In order for
important policies to become the law of the land, it is necessary for support
in both houses of Congress. To prevent
states from sabotaging some policies where states can usurp control of the policy,
it is also important to gain control of state governments. Kamala should try to teach out and emphasize
the importance of electing people at every level of government who will work
for policies for the people and for the country. With more and more Republicans
disgusted by Trump, and by the RINOs who have taken control of their party, reaching
out to Republicans, while attacking the RINO’s for their irresponsible fealty
to Trump’s fascist proclivities, is very logical and very important.
And, to tap
into support from the media, the rich, young men, teachers, scientists,
and technicians, (and everyone else!) I
believe that it would be extremely helpful for Kamala to bring, to the debate, something new
and powerful, and specific, to her vision of the future of technology -- that
it must be safe, and it must be available to every American in every corner of
the county. The future is coming. It is coming exponentially faster and faster,
and Americans must know that she will accelerate progress, while making sure,
absolutely sure, that its hazards are controlled, and its benefits are shared by
all Americans.
Labels: 2024 election, Debate, Democrats, Kamala Harris, Presidency, Republicans
Monday, August 19, 2024
2024 LANDSLIDE - WHY & HOW!
On the
eve of the Democratic National Convention of 2024, a key landmark in the 2024
election campaign, here is a post about …
WHY AND HOW THE DEMOCRATS
CAN WIN
A LANDSLIDE
VICTORY
UP AND DOWN THE BALLOT
This is –
will be -- a multi-part series. Additional sections, many related to different
aspects of HOW to win a landslide! will be posted as the campaign evolves, and
this post itself may be updated as (minute by minute!) election day approaches…
WHY
A SUBSTANTIAL MAJORITY OF AMERICANS FAVOR DEMOCRACY!
A SUBSTANTIAL MAJORITY OF AMERICANS FAVOR FREEDOM!
THIS GENERATIONAL CHANGE – THE KAMALA HARRIS – TIM WALZ
TICKET -- IS GENERATING HUGE AND GROWING EXCITEMENT AMONG VOTERS.
THERE ARE MORE DEMOCRATIC VOTERS THAN REPUBLICAN VOTERS. AND…
ADDING TO THE DEMOCRATS THE GENUINE REPUBLICANS (who believe in a
republic! as opposed to the RINOS who support
Trump’s project 2025) THERE ARE MANY MORE DEMOCRATS PLUS NORMAL
REPUBLICANS THAN THERE ARE EXTREME RIGHT WING MAGA VOTERS.
ELECTIONS DEPEND ON HOW PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT THE CANDIDATES,
AND KAMALA & WALZ ARE ELECTRIFYING THE ELECTORATE.
THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES FAVOR THE DEMOCRATS. (More about
this later!)
THERE ARE MANY, MANY WAYS THAT ALL THE OTHER ISSUES FAVOR
THE DEMOCRATS AS WELL.
THE USA IS MUCH MUCH BETTER OFF THAN WE WERE FOUR
YEARS AGO.
THE BIDEN-HARRIS TERM HAS QUITE A SPECTACULAR RECORD OF
ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
WHILE ON THE OTHER SIDE:
(IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER),
·
TRUMP IS A CRIMINAL,
·
HE IS A SEXUAL ABUSER,
·
HE INCITED A VIOLENT MOB AS PART OF A PLOT TO
REMAIN PRESIDENT EVEN THOUGH HE LOST THE ELECTION,
·
HE WAS CONVICTED OF A MASSIVE FRAUD OF ROUGHLY
HALF A BILLION DOLLARS,
·
HE IS A LIAR,
·
HE IS A HYPOCRITE,
·
HE FAVORS PUTIN OVER THE US.
o
AT TRUMP’S DEMAND, THE GOP BLOCKED AID TO ISRAEL
& UKRAINE FOR MONTHS
·
HIS SPEECHES AND INTERVIEWS ARE BECOMING MORE
AND MORE INCOHERENT,
·
AND IN SOME OF THE MOST DANGEROUS TRAITS A
PRESIDENT CAN HAVE:
o
HE IS FOR SALE,
§
CHANGING HIS POLICIES WHEN HE IS GIVEN ENOUGH
MONEY.
o
HE IS EGOTISTICAL,
§
INTERESTED IN WINNING AND SERVING HIMSELF, NOT
SERVING THE COUNTRY,
o
AND HE IS DELUSIONAL
Worse, possibly, than all of these together, Trump appears to be not just normalizing insults, THREATS, violence and physical attacks, as part of his political and legal process, but actually encouraging them.
BEYOND THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, THE GOP VICE PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATE IS NOT CONNECTING WITH VOTERS. (FYI -- WHEN ASKED WHY HE PICKED
VANCE, TRUMP EXPLAINED SIMPLY THAT… HE LIKES ME.)
AND THE ENTIRE GOP PARTY IS REPORTEDLY SHORT OF MONEY TO
SUPPORT THE ENTIRE TICKET IN NON-PRESIDENTIAL RACES.
THIS IS NOT HELPED WHEN TRUMP SUCKS MONEY OUT OF LOCAL &
STATE REPUBLICAN PARTIES FOR HIS PERSONAL CAMPAIGN AND LEGAL EXPENSES.
IN CONCLUSION
·
SOME OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED REPUBLICANS IN
THE COUNTRY WORKED FOR TRUMP, AND NOW SAY HE IS UNFIT TO BE PRESIDENT.
o
MANY OTHERS WHO WORKED FOR HIM ARE IN JAIL.
§
HE “DRAINED THE SWAMP” RIGHT INTO THE WHITE
HOUSE.
·
BY CONTRAST
o
DEMOCRATS, INDEPENDENTS & EVEN TRUE
REPUBLICANS ARE ENERGIZED!
§
AFTER
BIDEN RETIRED FROM THE CAMPAIGN, KAMALA AND HER TEAM HAVE BEEN EXECUTING
AN ALMOST PERFECT CAMPAIGN.
o
THE BIDEN-HARRIS TEAM HAS HAD AN EXTREMELY
SUCCESSFUL TERM.
§
THE ECONOMY IS TERRIFIC.
·
THE STOCK MARKET IS AT ALL TIME RECORD HIGHS.
·
PRICES ARE MODERATING AND INTEREST RATES ARE
GOING DOWN
·
JOBS AND WAGES ARE UP.
·
STUDENT DEBT IS DOWN!
§
IMMIGRATION IS DOING BETTER
·
(IF THE GOP HAD NOT TANKED THE BIPARTISAN
IMMIGRATION BILL ON TRUMP’S COMMAND IT WOULD BE DOING EVEN BETTER)
§
THE CHIPS BILL & THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL ARE
MAKING AMERICAN MANUFACTURING COMPETITIVE WITH THE WORLD, AGAIN.
HOW
FIRST OF
ALL: YES ,THEY ARE DOING VERY WELL! AND YES, I BELIEVE THEY WILL WIN BY A
LANDSLIDE AND YES, THE POLLS SHOW THEM CONSTANTLY IMPROVING, BUT
1.
TO
MAKE THIS PREDICTION OF A LANDSLIDE COME TRUE EVERYONE INTERESTED IN SEEING THE
HARRIS/WALZ TEAM WIN HAS TO WORK AS HARD AS THEY CAN TO MAKE IT ACTUALLY
HAPPEN. A LANDSLIDE WILL NOT HAPPEN BECAUSE I PREDICT IT.
a.
ONLY
HARD WORK CAN MAKE A LANDSLIDE HAPPEN!
2.
THE
POLLS ARE STILL CLOSE
a.
POLLS
ARE NOT THE SAME AS VOTES.
3.
THERE
ARE HINTS THAT TRUMP & HIS COLLABORATORS ARE TRYING (EVEN HARDER THAN
THEY DID LAST TIME) TO STEAL THE 2024 ELECTION
a.
ONLY
HARD WORK (LEGAL, LAW ENFORCEMENT, WELL-TRAINED POLL WORKERS & MORE) CAN
MAKE SURE THE LANDSLIDE IS CERTIFIED!
*** ***** ***
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION ISSUES
#1 DEMOCRACY, #2 CHARACTER, #3 NATIONAL SECURITY
https://qporit.blogspot.com/2024/11/presidential-election-issues.html/
#4 THE ECONOMY, #5 IMMIGRATION, #6 WOMEN'S HEALTH
https://qporit.blogspot.com/2024/11/presidential-election-issues-4-economy.html/
*** ***** ***
*** ***** ***
WHY AND HOW THE DEMOCRATS
CAN WIN
A LANDSLIDE VICTORY
UP AND DOWN THE BALLOT
https://qporit.blogspot.com/2024/08/2024-landslide-why-how.html/
DISCLAIMERS,
APOLOGIES AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
APOLOGY: I
apologize to anyone who is offended, for calling Hillary Clinton and Kamala
Harris mostly by their first names, and Trump, Walz, and Vance by their last
names; it just seemed more familiar and easier to identify them that way, and
in some cases more appropriately friendly --
or not.
BIO NOTES: The author began campaigning for Democrats
in High School, joining Eleanor Roosevelt trying to unseat Tammany Hall, and
elect Reform Democrats in New York City (Author’s note: I have a photo I
took of Eleanor Roosevelt gamely climbing into an open campaign truck with
volunteers to go to the sight of a rally.)
In College he became
a member of the Executive Committee of the National Student Young Democrats,
and chairman of the policy and platform committee. He campaigned for Adlai
Stevenson in the Primaries, and worked and slept at the Stevenson Headquarters
at the DNC convention in LA. After Kennedy was nominated, he worked to organize
student Young Democratic clubs at colleges in NY and neighboring states.
After starting graduate studies in physics, he continued to
follow politics and political issues.
In 2005, he began writing news and opinion articles about
film, theater, new media, science, technology and political issues in QPORIT: Quick
Previews Of Random Interesting
Things. In 2015, he invented the
term eXtended Reality (XR) in an article here, in QPORIT.
He is currently
preparing a book and presenting a series of talks called
EXTENDED REALITY AND
THE FUTURE OF US ALL
DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer. If I make statements
or state opinions about the law or judges or justices or decisions or the
Constitution, I am doing that as a legal civilian. The Constitution begins with
“We the People…”, not We the Lawyers, and I consider it my right to read
the Constitution and understand it, based on what it says, and what is
happening in the real word of today.
Labels: 2024, campaign, Democrats, election, Kamala Harris, Republicans, RINOs, Tim Walz, Trump, Vance
Friday, August 21, 2020
THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION - OVERVIEW
- Democratic Convention Home Page:
- Platform draft:
- Most memorable quote: "My father had no pre-existing conditions, except that he trusted Trump; and it cost him his life."
- Bernie Sanders gave an earnest, effective description of the worst failures of the Trump Presidency, including the failure to deal with COVID-19 health or economic issues effectively.
- Several important Republicans, including Governor Kasich, endorsed Biden.
- Michelle Obama gave an emotional and pointed speech, naming Trump for his inability to fulfill the requirements of the job of President, saying "it is what it is", throwing back at Trump an expression that epitomized the President's lack of empathy when Trump used it to dismiss the toll of COVID-19. She also strongly declared that if Trump is re-elected, "it" -- the negative consequences of Trump's inability to handle the job of President -- "will get worse".
- Steve Bannon was indicted for fraud.
- Bannon is the second Trump campaign Chairman (after Paul Manafort) to be indicted.
- The Republican led Senate Intelligence Committee released its (almost 1,000 page) report confirming the findings of the Mueller Report.
- The report:
2020-08-18 (TUE AUG 18, 2020)
Day 2
- Joseph R Biden was officially selected to be the official nominee of the Democratic Party.
- The polling of the states was a surprisingly interesting tour of the United States, and the varieties of scenic locations, people, genders, sizes, languages, ages and styles of our Country.
- There was a chilling section on the horrors of the Pandemic,
- and a frightening segment on the dangers to our country of Trump's disregard of the rule of law and his preference for the leaders of Russia, China, North Korea, and other anti-democratic leaders over our allies.
- There were emotional and compelling personal descriptions of Vice President Biden and his wife and family.
- There was a strong emphasis on his empathy for the common man, and his experience and strength in dealing with foreign and domestic issues, and his ability to work with Republicans.
- (In fact, he was nominated to be the Presidential Candidate by an elevator operator he had gotten to know.)
- There was a powerful segment on his friendship with Republican John McCain.
- There were fine, short addresses by President Clinton, Colin Powell (speaking for the first time at a Democratic Convention), and others.
- The evening was capped by an emotional address from the former 'Second Lady', Dr. Jill Biden (who was a full-time teacher throughout the Obama-Biden administration) from an empty classroom.
2020-08-19 (WED AUG 19, 2020)
- Kamala Harris was officially selected to be the Democratic Party candidate for Vice President of the United States
- President Barack Obama gave an unprecedented, stern warning that President Trump has been a failed President, who is shaking the foundations of our democracy, and could destroy it if he is given another term.
- It is unusual for a President to directly condemn the actions of his successor.
- It is similarly unusual that President Bush, the last GOP President, will probably not attend the GOP convention next week.
- Some quotes from Obama's speech:
- "I want to talk as plainly as I can about the stakes in this election. Because what we do these next 76 days will echo through generations to come."
- "...we should ... expect a president to be the custodian of this democracy. We should expect that regardless of ego, ambition, or political beliefs, the president will preserve, protect, and defend the freedoms and ideals that so many Americans marched for and went to jail for; fought for and died for."
- "I never expected that my successor would embrace my vision or continue my policies. I did hope, for the sake of our country, that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously; that he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reverence for the democracy that had been placed in his care.
- But he never did.
- For close to four years now, he has shown no interest in putting in the work; no interest in finding common ground; no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends" .
- President Obama also strongly endorsed Biden, and described how and why Biden is uniquely experienced and qualified to do a good job as President.
- Kamala Harris ended the evening with a mostly personal address that introduced herself to the American people.
- In one section, toward the ending climax of her speech, her words reminded me of echos from the famous St. Crispin's Day Speech in Shakespeare's Henry V, as she spoke about the singular importance of working together to elect Biden.
2020-08-20 (THU AUG 20, 2020)
- Presidential candidate Joe Biden gave a strong address.
- The whole evening, and much of the convention contrasted his genuine caring for people with the callous disregard Trump has shown for victims of COVID-19, or for anyone who does not flatter him. Biden has had tragedy in his life, and he has been genuine about caring for everyone he meets who needs comforting.
- On the Colbert show, a few weeks ago, Jon Stewart remarked that he had had doubts about Biden for a while, but he had concluded that Biden's ability to understand grief, to help Americans mourn for 170 thousand deaths, is what the country needs now.
- Biden stressed that he would be a President for ALL Americans. (Emphasis his.)
- With respect to policy it was conventional, stressing the critical issues that are currently being ignored. And he promised to base his actions as President on truth and expert advice. (It's odd to have to even say that as something different.)
- As a whole, the online convention was strikingly successful, carrying out themes, showing us ordinary Americans, remaining interesting and, despite a few technical glitches (unsurprising to anyone who has been Zoom-ing over the Internet lately -- my own Internet died today while I was getting ready for the convention), working with almost Broadcast precision, over 8+ hours of programming
- I've attended a convention, and watched many on television. The excitement of a politically enthusiastic crowd when you are there in person is more thrilling than a rock concert. This televised event with a distributed convention was not the same as being there in-person, but it was much better, I think, than watching other people attending a conventional convention.
Labels: Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, Democratic Convention 2020, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris
