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Can Hate Win an Election?
Townhall.com ^ | October 31, 2020 | John C. Goodman

Posted on 10/31/2020 4:58:59 AM PDT by Kaslin

I don’t understand why this election is even close.

Donald Trump draws huge crowds whose energy and enthusiasm is palpable. When Joe Biden ventures from his basement, the handful of onlookers not only look bored, they look like they may have been paid to be there.

In a normal election, even a hint that a presidential candidate is showing signs of dementia would be lethal. A credible accusation that a candidate may have traded access for dollars would be impossible for the candidate to ignore.

So why are polls showing Joe Biden in the lead?

The answer, I am told, is that no one is actually for Joe Biden. They are against Donald Trump. They’re so much against Trump that they are willing to overlook almost any Biden deficiency or transgression.

For the first time in the history of American politics, an entire presidential campaign is being managed by a strategy of sitting on the sidelines. Why is Biden not campaigning? Because it appears that nothing he can say or do would change a single vote.

At Trump rallies, adoring supporters are now yelling “We love you.” Biden supporters don’t attend Trump rallies. But if they did, they would be yelling “We hate you.”

Is hate enough to win?

The politics of hate is closely connected to the politics of identity.

The Democratic Party has a long history of race baiting as elections draw near. No, Trayvon Martin was not killed by a white assailant with an animus toward blacks. No, Michael Brown did not say “hands up, don’t shoot.” No, George Bush did not side with the racists who chained James Byrd to a pickup truck and dragged him to his death

But if you are an African American, you have probably heard these myths repeated time and again – on black radio, on black TV, and perhaps even in church. They are repeated often at election time. Hillary Clinton even had the mothers of Martin and Brown sitting on the stage with her at the national convention when she was nominated to be the Democratic candidate for president.

No, Donald Trump did not say white supremacists are good people. But that doesn’t stop the latest message conveyed by the hatemongers: If Donald Trump and the Republicans have their way, you could end up like George Floyd.

All this rhetoric has one and only one purpose: to make black voters angry enough to vote for Democrats.

And it has one very sad side effect. It completely distracts us from a rational look at public policies that need change.

Consider two statements:

There is systemic racism. There are public policies that systematically harm low-income minorities.

The first statement is false. The second statement is true.

Low-income black families in inner cities all too often must send their children to the worst schools. They tend to live in the worst housing. They tend to receive the worst city services. They are subject to the worst environmental harms.

Yet, as Donald Trump has repeatedly reminded everyone, almost all these cities are run by Democrats. Often by black Democrats. The idea that black city managers are harming fellow blacks because they are racist is simply not credible.

Here is what is true. Liberal Democrats believe in special interest government. Their whole approach to politics is based on it. The idea is that each interest group agrees to support the outcome as a whole so long as the group receives benefits that are especially important to it.

Here is what that means in practice. In return for support of the teachers’ union, the political leaders agree not to fire bad teachers. In return for the support of the police union, the leaders agree not to fire bad cops.

Agreeing to pay higher salaries is hard. Money is scarce. Budgets are tight. But it’s easy not to fire bad apples. Well, it’s easy unless a mishap gets on national TV.

Other policies follow the same pattern. The reason why California has the highest homeless population in the country is because liberals in San Francisco and other California cities want zoning laws that protect their wealthy enclaves from inexpensive housing that threatens to arise next door.

The reason why environmental externalities are not evenly spread throughout the city is because the wealthy liberals have more influence over public decisions than low-income blacks.

No one sets out to harm poor people. Politicians are merely pursuing their own interests. Inner-city minorities get the short end of the stick because they are the least influential special interest around.

In the current race, Donald Trump is approaching black voters with a different message: school choice, safe neighborhoods, enterprise zones, liberating the job market, etc. This message is focused on public policies, not on race-baiting rhetoric.

In fact, Trump is the first Republican candidate in modern times to seriously compete for black votes at all.

Will that strategy work? We’ll see.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: blackamericans; blackvoters; donaldtrump; hate; joebiden
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To: Kaslin
Can Hate Win an Election?

We're about to find out.

21 posted on 10/31/2020 5:46:22 AM PDT by Lower Deck
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To: gundog
With help from Ignorance, Stupidity, and Fraud, sure.

America's voting system in a nutshell.

22 posted on 10/31/2020 5:47:56 AM PDT by CatOwner
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To: Bon of Babble
Most leftists would say "climate denier". Libs would name some lie from the Biden media like racist or homophobe or he doesn't care about COVID.
23 posted on 10/31/2020 6:15:40 AM PDT by palmer (Democracy Dies Six Ways from Sunday)
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To: ptsal
hate and envy
. . . and cynicism towards society.

Which is the same thing as naiveté towards government (since government exists to control evil in society).


24 posted on 10/31/2020 6:21:29 AM PDT by conservatism_IS_compassion (Socialism is cynicism directed towards society and - correspondingly - naivete towards government.)
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To: Bon of Babble
They are slaves to the msm and leftist subversives who have brainwashed them into believing “Orange Man Bad” - without a scintilla of evidence.
The natural disposition is always to believe. It is acquired wisdom and experience only that teach incredulity, and they very seldom teach it enough. The wisest and most cautious of us all frequently gives credit to stories which he himself is afterwards both ashamed and astonished that he could possibly think of believing. — Adam Smith, Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759)

25 posted on 10/31/2020 6:23:47 AM PDT by conservatism_IS_compassion (Socialism is cynicism directed towards society and - correspondingly - naivete towards government.)
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To: Ikeon
It won the last one. I see no reson why biden cant win on tds this election.

Interesting observation. Candidate Trump made a lot of promises based on love and subtle hate. He delivered positively on all of them. Candidate Biden offers nothing but absolute division.

The American voter will see through it all. President Trump’s job is secure until 2025. 🇺🇸🇺🇸

26 posted on 10/31/2020 6:25:30 AM PDT by Laslo Fripp (The Sybil of Free Republic)
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To: MCEscherHammer

Yes, he has no energy and only the same nastiness over and over. There’s very little about the future unless it’s in contrast to a Trump action. All hate, all the time.

I personally think him appearing in sunglasses is a huge mistake. Perhaps it doesn’t matter to the haters, but ask any salesman - people want to see your eyes to build trust.


27 posted on 10/31/2020 6:33:45 AM PDT by Not_Who_U_Think
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To: Kaslin

Leftist sign memes are:

Hate doesn’t live here.

I follow the science.

Obviously those things aren’t true. They HATE us. And they are surely aware of the multitude of scientists who don’t agree with their beliefs, even though the LSM never reports on anything that doesn’t toe the Leftist line.


28 posted on 10/31/2020 6:47:07 AM PDT by originalbuckeye ('In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act'- George Orwell.)
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To: Kaslin

>>I don’t understand why this election is even close.

Because the same DNC corrupt house organ media that gleefully published FAKE news against Trump planted by the FBI and CIA is unwilling to acknowledge that same FBI and CIA have sat on details of Biden’s corruption for a year now all through the impeachment sham AND refuse to even acknowledge the contents of Biden’s laptop on air or in print or permit others to share the information in social media.

Saw a new thing happening on Facebook. Affected accounts aren’t locked but the users cannot post to groups/share articles.

They are blocked from communicating in groups until late November.

A chill wind blows.


29 posted on 10/31/2020 7:01:17 AM PDT by a fool in paradise (Joe Biden- "First thing I'd do is repeal those Trump tax cuts." (May 4th, 2019)l)
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To: Kaslin

Also I don’t believe the polls. To believe the polls means that Carter, Mondale, and Dukakis actually had a shot in 1980, 1984, and 1988.

The media LIES to affect the outcome of elections.

In 2016 the Left claimed that Trump stole “it” because their fake polls had shown he would lose.


30 posted on 10/31/2020 7:02:55 AM PDT by a fool in paradise (Joe Biden- "First thing I'd do is repeal those Trump tax cuts." (May 4th, 2019)l)
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To: mewzilla
>>Think of the numbers of retired public employees.

They are idiots then because Slow Joe says that a good stock market means nothing to them yet THAT is how their pensions remain solvent.

31 posted on 10/31/2020 7:04:52 AM PDT by a fool in paradise (Joe Biden- "First thing I'd do is repeal those Trump tax cuts." (May 4th, 2019)l)
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To: Ikeon

Very true! Nearly 90 million have voted already so something is motivating them...we’ll find out Tuesday. Pray for God’s favor on president Trump!


32 posted on 10/31/2020 7:10:27 AM PDT by RoseofTexas
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To: Kaslin

A. We don’t know that its close.
B. This is a better outcome than having had Hillary for four years.
C. Looks to me like the momentum is on Trump’s side.


33 posted on 10/31/2020 7:47:50 AM PDT by Mozilla (The Reckoning Day Is Near.)
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To: a fool in paradise

...how their pensions remain solvent.
_____________________________
They believe that money comes from tax receipts on others. Just as electricity comes from the outlet in the wall.


34 posted on 10/31/2020 7:48:13 AM PDT by reformedliberal (Make yourself less available.)
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To: Bon of Babble

Oh I know how my family members vote Democrat. First, they voted for these idiots long before Trump. Used to dislike Bush. They got confused and manipulated about which side to be on. They bought into mass media and lying Hollywood. Either they listen to no news or they follow left talking points. Either manipulated by college or by work. Plain idiots basically,


35 posted on 10/31/2020 7:51:32 AM PDT by Mozilla (The Reckoning Day Is Near.)
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To: ptsal

annnnnnddd division, identity politics, feelings beat logic, yelling and screaming, meltdowns, whites are racists, guns kill people, police are evil, the list is a mile long.


36 posted on 10/31/2020 8:14:50 AM PDT by No_More_Harkin
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To: Kaslin

It’s not close. Going to be a bigger Electoral College margin than in 2016.


37 posted on 10/31/2020 9:09:47 AM PDT by WASCWatch
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To: Kaslin
I don’t understand why this election is even close.

A. Media/Democrat collusion.

B. Polling fraud.

C. Voter fraud.

38 posted on 10/31/2020 9:58:47 AM PDT by Albion Wilde ("When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice." --Donald Trump)
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To: Albion Wilde

You are correct with all your points.


39 posted on 10/31/2020 10:13:08 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Ikeon

I don’t know I and many many others HATED Obama and that didn’t help anything


40 posted on 10/31/2020 12:59:08 PM PDT by terart
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