In another thread earlier this week about republican endorsements, someone suggested an alternative possibility that I thought was insightful: they are endorsing her to try to get people to the polls by any means possible. They fear Trump has become so disenfranchising to everyone other than his most fervent base that republican turnout will be horrible. My own opinion: this helps in three possible ways.
By telling people it’s ok to vote for Kamala you get them in the building and expect that they will vote heavily R down the ballot.
You get people in the building thinking they are going to do 1) but end up voting for Trump anyway in the end because in that final moment they just can’t bring themselves to vote (D)
You weaken the confidence of the general ® voters by making it seem like Kamala has a very strong chance of winning and whip them out of complacency to get them into the building.
I’d really like to think that it’s actually because of patriotism and genuine care for the wellbeing of the country, but I wouldn’t put any of the above past them. It could also be a little bit of both.
Most people don’t split their ticket when they vote; if someone votes Democratic for president, it’s likely that they end up voting Democratic in most other races on the ballot as well. That’s especially true if they’re actively voting against Trump, and the other candidates are endorsed by Trump. So, if I was a Republican trying to take control of the Senate and retain control of the House, that would be a risky strategy.
As far as the other possibilities go, IDK. It doesn’t seem likely because…
…Many of the Republicans currently endorsing Harris are been vocally anti-Trump for a long time now. It’s not new that they’re anti-Trump, but it is new that they’re actively endorsing a Democrat. I don’t think that they’re trying to actively work to get Trump elected by some subversive means, and it seems like the numbers of people that would work on–versus the number of Reagan-era Republicans that would take it at face value–seems very marginal.
In another thread earlier this week about republican endorsements, someone suggested an alternative possibility that I thought was insightful: they are endorsing her to try to get people to the polls by any means possible. They fear Trump has become so disenfranchising to everyone other than his most fervent base that republican turnout will be horrible. My own opinion: this helps in three possible ways.
I’d really like to think that it’s actually because of patriotism and genuine care for the wellbeing of the country, but I wouldn’t put any of the above past them. It could also be a little bit of both.
100%
Most people don’t split their ticket when they vote; if someone votes Democratic for president, it’s likely that they end up voting Democratic in most other races on the ballot as well. That’s especially true if they’re actively voting against Trump, and the other candidates are endorsed by Trump. So, if I was a Republican trying to take control of the Senate and retain control of the House, that would be a risky strategy.
As far as the other possibilities go, IDK. It doesn’t seem likely because…
…Many of the Republicans currently endorsing Harris are been vocally anti-Trump for a long time now. It’s not new that they’re anti-Trump, but it is new that they’re actively endorsing a Democrat. I don’t think that they’re trying to actively work to get Trump elected by some subversive means, and it seems like the numbers of people that would work on–versus the number of Reagan-era Republicans that would take it at face value–seems very marginal.