MichaelCallow's recent activity
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Comment on Tildistas in the US, who do you support in the 2020 Democratic Primary? in ~talk
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Comment on Tildistas in the US, who do you support in the 2020 Democratic Primary? in ~talk
MichaelCallow Link ParentAs far as the first-choice/second-choice logic, that's what I had thought too. But according to these poll results at least, it looks like Biden beats Warren as second choice by a healthy margin...As far as the first-choice/second-choice logic, that's what I had thought too. But according to these poll results at least, it looks like Biden beats Warren as second choice by a healthy margin (32% versus 23%). Interestingly, this shows Warren supporters preferring Harris over Sanders by a similar margin (31% versus 21%). My initial impression was just based on reading Reddit comments, then later the outdated poll from this article showing Warren supporters preferring Sanders. In my opinion, preferring Harris over Sanders is comparable to preferring Biden over Warren, although I can't consider myself completely educated on Harris. She seems like another corporate Dem to me, and her history as a prosecutor is problematic.
Your second paragraph is pretty much exactly my suspicion. Obviously not all anti-Warren Sanders supporters are Russian bots, and actual toxic people exist in all communities. But it's terrifyingly easy to astroturf on places like Reddit. I see it on a daily basis in obvious advertisement posts and comments by small marketing teams; a larger corporation or national power could theoretically do so much more effectively and subtly. And once it becomes a feedback loop, as you mentioned, it can even reach content creators and more influential members of the community outside of social media.
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Comment on Tildistas in the US, who do you support in the 2020 Democratic Primary? in ~talk
MichaelCallow Link ParentThat's a good perspective that I hadn't considered. Thanks for the insight!That's a good perspective that I hadn't considered. Thanks for the insight!
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Comment on Tildistas in the US, who do you support in the 2020 Democratic Primary? in ~talk
MichaelCallow Link ParentThat's an interesting point. I wonder how much of their differences boil down to semantics and labeling (mislabeling?), then. I know this comes down to a debate of semantics, but I feel like...That's an interesting point. I wonder how much of their differences boil down to semantics and labeling (mislabeling?), then.
I know this comes down to a debate of semantics, but I feel like Sanders self-identifying as a socialist is a mistake. I'm not the most well-read, but thus far none of his policies or stances that I've seen have stood out to me as particularly socialist, but rather reformist capitalist, similarly to Warren. It seems like he's effectively alienating any moderates who are scared of the word thanks to the Red Scare, as well as frustrating any "true" socialists by perpetuating the misunderstanding of the term.
I'm also uncertain if this explains some of the negativity towards Warren from Sanders supporters. Along those lines, I'm interested why so many first-choice Sanders people are second-choice Biden, when it seems to me like Warren is a much closer candidate policy-wise. I don't have any evidence of anything nefarious, but after everything that went down last election, I'm more likely to believe in an organized misinformation campaign. Some of the comments I read on Reddit raise my suspicions of potential astroturfing. Then again, it could just be my own misunderstanding of different people's expectations for a candidate.
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Comment on Tildistas in the US, who do you support in the 2020 Democratic Primary? in ~talk
MichaelCallow LinkWarren/Sanders. I think Warren probably has slightly better (more nuanced?) policies than Sanders, but Sanders has name rec and a devoted following. I'm not very educated on the matter, though,...Warren/Sanders. I think Warren probably has slightly better (more nuanced?) policies than Sanders, but Sanders has name rec and a devoted following. I'm not very educated on the matter, though, and I'd honestly be fine with any actual progressive/anti-corporate candidate.
On a semi-related note, does anyone else find it odd how many Sanders supporters are anti-Warren? It seems like by and large they're on the same team, and may even end up being on a ticket together. The conspiracy theorist in me feels like a lot of this sentiment is artificial, or at least started that way. Potentially an attempt to divide the left?
It's an interesting thought. And as much as I hate it, there's definitely a nonzero percentage of voters who wouldn't vote for any woman due to either conscious or subconscious sexism. Similarly, there likely are people who would vote for the first female president regardless of policy. I'm not sure which side would be larger, but I've personally seen cases of the former, but none of the latter (small sample; anecdotal).
The runner-up second choices are intriguing as well. Sanders supporters strongly favor Warren versus Harris (23% versus 8%), whereas Warren supporters are much closer with Sanders versus Biden (21% versus 16%). Biden supporters prefer Sanders, but are within a margin of error between Warren and Harris. Looking at the Harris and Buttigieg supporters, Sanders doesn't make the top-three second choices. I'd like to know exactly where he polls there. These runner-up numbers suggest to me that Sanders is out of favor with moderate voters.