How NOT to Run Against Harris by Naomi Wolf

[LibertyEagle]

I think she is right. Especially since Harris’ campaign is hiring people to take the low blows, it is hard not to respond in kind. But, it is the wrong thing to do, if you want to be successful with the people you need to win over.

This article is very good and the entire thing really needs reading.

NO ONE CAN WIN BY APPEALING TO JUST THE BASE.

So the US Presidential election always comes down to pathetically few swing votes — like, thousands or, sometimes, even hundreds —- in those swing states. In five to seven states, the margin of victory is agonizingly narrow and Trump’s (and Harris’) only route to victory is to swing undecided voters in those states, his or her way. Swing voters tend to be moderate.

This math requires a successful Presidential candidate to speak not just to people who agree with him or her, but also to use compassion and insight and imagination to speak to all of America, about the issues that unite most Americans and that are of concern to most Americans.

Now, given human nature, it is very difficult to achieve this — that is, to give up feeling the ego-gratification of speaking into an approving echo chamber, and rather to choose to use language and identify policies that really unite, really reach out and appeal, to those who do not agree with one about everything.

https://naomiwolf.substack.com/p/how...meOnShare=true

[GlennwaldSnowdenAssanged]

I am no authority on this topic.
But, if I had to title one of those 2 candidates as moderate, it would not be Harris.

[LibertyEagle]

I am no authority on this topic.
But, if I had to title one of those 2 candidates as moderate, it would not be Harris.

Me neither. But, that is the angle she and Tampon Tim are pushing. Most people don’t take the time to research, unfortunately.

[spudea]

This strategy to go after swing/undecided voters is really outdated in an increasingly polarized society. Swing voters/undecided voters are a dwindling population and they are low info, highly unlikely to even vote. You can't reach these people. If anyone is undecided about Trump, they've been living in a basement dungeon for 10 years, and they weren't going to vote anyways. It 100% can be a base turnout election.

[Anti Federalist]

ETA - Deleted comment due to incorrect and/or unverifiable polling data.

[69360]

Trump seems a bit less crazy and more serious after the attempt on his life. That is probably all he needs to do to win. It seems like he is doing the right things to win. His last press conference was not bad actually. He seemed reasonable as he is capable of being. Trump is leading almost every swing state except Wisconsin and Michingan, which is really a blue state now.

Harris is in a honeymoon period still. She hasn't even had a single press conference and just one softball interview. I would expect he numbers to drop once she has to debate Trump and actually speak and defend her past record.

[LibertyEagle]

I actually think Harris is going to be elected. If they don’t have the votes, they will cheat any number of ways. Illegal aliens are on the voter rolls in some states. They won’t have to vote themselves, but their names just being there can be used by unscrupulous actors. And that is just one of the possibilities.

There are things I like about RFK, Jr., but he is not my choice this round. Nor do I think he stands a chance in hell. But, everyone has to make their own decision.

There is no liberty candidate in the race.

[Brian4Liberty]

I think she is right. Especially since Harris’ campaign is hiring people to take the low blows, it is hard not to respond in kind. But, it is the wrong thing to do, if you want to be successful with the people you need to win over.

This article is very good and the entire thing really needs reading.
...
https://naomiwolf.substack.com/p/how...meOnShare=true

She makes some good points about swing states and appealing to as many people as possible on common ground issues.

On the other hand, I believe she suffers from a common human problem, where she believes that others think as she does. Conservatives always want to appeal to things that are important to them. They want to talk about concrete issues like how the nation is run, which includes the economy, inflation, spending, immigration, crimes, etc.

Then she says to stay away from emotional appeals, such as "intrusive attacks on opponents’ private lives, personal slurs, nasty jokes". Ok, take the high road, but does that really appeal to people other than the conservative base?

Let's face it, what appeals to the left is emotion. "Intrusive attacks on opponents’ private lives, personal slurs, nasty jokes' are their bread and butter. Stormy Daniels anyone? They may have some level of concern about concrete issues, but it doesn't effect how they vote. They are more interested in who is painted as the "bad guy", who are the victims, and do they relate to the victims.

One thing to consider is that Trump was successful in a political sense by engaging in leftist style attacks. He did engage in "intrusive attacks on opponents’ private lives, personal slurs, nasty jokes". He did it excessively, and it was so successful that the Democrats just decided to cheat in the key swing state metro areas the second time around.

Trump won by appealing to the left, because he played by their game, at least in the public sphere. What Trump didn't do was learn to play dirty electoral politics at the local level.

I would agree with a lot of what Wolfe said, but would add that Trump should continue with the personal attacks, just be careful to not alienate "moderates". Don't attack Kamala on something that many if not most women can relate to. Did Kamala sleep her way to the top? Of course. But Trump should consider whether this a positive or negative to the majority in the modern world. Above all else, Trump should only attack Kamala if he can almost universally make her the "bad guy".

Here's a great example of successfully painting Kamala as the bad guy:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1-CRrMDSLs

[Brian4Liberty]

...

Here are a couple of threads that illustrate the typical leftist appeal. Emotion based arguments, purely personal. JD Vance is a bad guy:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...onfirm-or-deny
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...tal-loser-quot