What do you think are the most important issues to voters?

[Orphia Nay]

Surely that would suggest that foreign policy is the main consideration for all voters above and beyond specific policies.

I think foreign policy is one of the least important areas for most voters.

No, people are contrary, and will use just about any excuse to find disagreement with other people. Splitters!

 

[angrysoba]

No, people are contrary, and will use just about any excuse to find disagreement with other people. Splitters!

They are so not!!

 

[Dr. Keith]

Any sane adult.

 

[Gulliver Foyle]

the Free Market works only if any attempts to hijack it are smacked down.

The free market only works when there are lots of players in the market competing against each other. The problem there is that the only way to ensure this situation is to have the government hold its hand down on one side of the scales to ensure no player (or group of players acting in concert) get too big.

The free market unmolested will always devolve down to monopoly or oligopoly.

 

[Norman Alexander]

I think the major problems in the USA today are:

1) Being unable to open screw-top jars like you could in the good old days when people today were younger.
2) Not being able to understand the kids' slang like you could in the good old days when people today were younger.
3) The internet. People don't send letters like you could in the good old days when people today were younger.
4) Not being allowed shoot black people in the face for no reason like you could in the good old days when people today were younger.
5) Where have all the pennies gone?

 

[Hlafordlaes]

GOP (all flavors)

• Donors: Zero taxes, zero accountability, unfettered and unmetered access to congressional and SCOTUS tip jars
• Politicians: Full tip jars, feel-good legislation, virtue-signalling speeches, unfettered insider trading of financial assets, and either the chance to beat some small animal to death or kick anyone in the teeth who cannot kick back on at least a daily basis
• Voters: Ensure only one fat belly has sway and that they are on that cave troll's friend list, to escape all accountability, and to see factual reality beg for denying them omnipotence

Democrat

• Donors: No new taxes, zero accountability, unfettered and unmetered access to congressional and SCOTUS tip jars
• Politicians: Full tip jars, pass feel-good legislation, give virtue-signalling speeches, and unfettered insider trading of financial assets
• Voters: Feel good about their vote, forget all wars/genocide ever committed in their name, feel good, and did we mention, feel good?

Independents

• Donors: No new taxes, zero accountability, unfettered and unmetered access to congressional and SCOTUS tip jars
• Politicians: Full tip jars, pass feel-good legislation, give virtue-signalling speeches, and unfettered insider trading of financial assets
• Voters: To escape all accountability forever and blame the world on everyone but themselves.

 

[Emily's Cat]

GOP (all flavors)

• Donors: Zero taxes, zero accountability, unfettered and unmetered access to congressional and SCOTUS tip jars
• Politicians: Full tip jars, feel-good legislation, virtue-signalling speeches, unfettered insider trading of financial assets, and either the chance to beat some small animal to death or kick anyone in the teeth who cannot kick back on at least a daily basis
• Voters: Ensure only one fat belly has sway and that they are on that cave troll's friend list, to escape all accountability, and to see factual reality beg for denying them omnipotence

Democrat

• Donors: No new taxes, zero accountability, unfettered and unmetered access to congressional and SCOTUS tip jars
• Politicians: Full tip jars, pass feel-good legislation, give virtue-signalling speeches, and unfettered insider trading of financial assets
• Voters: Feel good about their vote, forget all wars/genocide ever committed in their name, feel good, and did we mention, feel good?

Independents

• Donors: No new taxes, zero accountability, unfettered and unmetered access to congressional and SCOTUS tip jars
• Politicians: Full tip jars, pass feel-good legislation, give virtue-signalling speeches, and unfettered insider trading of financial assets
• Voters: To escape all accountability forever and blame the world on everyone but themselves.

I don't necessarily agree with every bit of your assessment (just most of it), but your on-the-mark cynicism made me laugh a whole lot!

 

[dudalb]

What is odd is that the Gaza/Israeli/Palestinian issue is getting such play and I think it is really a minor matter to most voters, but you have small but noisty groups..on both sides..for which is the only issue.

 

[Emily's Cat]

What is odd is that the Gaza/Israeli/Palestinian issue is getting such play and I think it is really a minor matter to most voters, but you have small but noisty groups..on both sides..for which is the only issue.

I think there's a nuance here that you might be missing. Most americans don't really care a whole lot about what's going on over there.

What americans do care about, in my view, is what's happening here. It's the rallies on college campus that are advocating support for a terrorist organization, and chanting slogans that explicitly call for genocide. It's the demonstrators defacing public property to express support for terrorists. And it's the harassment and vilification of jewish americans.

 

[W.D.Clinger]

I think there's a nuance here that you might be missing. Most americans don't really care a whole lot about what's going on over there.

What americans do care about, in my view, is what's happening here. It's the rallies on college campus that are advocating support for a terrorist organization, and chanting slogans that explicitly call for genocide. It's the demonstrators defacing public property to express support for terrorists. And it's the harassment and vilification of jewish americans.

In my view, that's what Emily's Cat cares about.

My own opinions about this are somewhat more nuanced, possibly because I have closer personal connections to several of the Americans for whom Emily's Cat likes to speak.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

I think a HUGE chunk of Americans care what is done militarily in the name of America in the world; and they really don't like the idea of giving away (not even selling) 2,000 pound bombs to hlow up children over and over.
It's not about The World, it's about the image Americans have of themselves.

 

[jt512]

It's the economy, stupid. Always has been. And in general, the economy has fared better under Democrats than Republicans. Biden inherited a covid economy where virtually everyone predicted a major recession--it has not happened. Inflation rate keeps dropping. The stock market has done really well despite Trump insisting it would collapse under Biden.

And yet Trump leads Harris in the polls, the prediction markets, and the forecast models (Nate Silver and The Economist). This would tend to suggest that your assumptions are wrong.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

Democrats tend to not get a benefit from a good economy, but I think neither do Republicans - Americans tend to see a booming economy as their god-given Right.

So thing going well is something that doesn't hurt Harris, but that's all it does.

 

[Donal]

And yet Trump leads Harris in the polls, the prediction markets, and the forecast models (Nate Silver and The Economist). This would tend to suggest that your assumptions are wrong.

How does that contradict what stanfr said? If anything, it demonstrates gap between perception and reality, just like crime stats.

 

[Hlafordlaes]

And yet Trump leads Harris in the polls, the prediction markets, and the forecast models (Nate Silver and The Economist). This would tend to suggest that your assumptions are wrong.

That Trump's support is not in single digits is an indictment of American culture. Dim bulbs amount to an embarrassing half of the nation, with 1% being total asswipes for cynically funding it all.

If the world survives its current fascination with Big Money and Randian hero worship, the next Simon Wiesenthal will be known for hunting down rogue war criminal Americans and Israelis ("Confederates Nabbed Exposing Themselves (What Else?)), war movies will be about goose-stepping Americans getting their due comeuppance ("The Clean Dozen", "A-Day"), and corn fed beef will be thought of as animal torture, or "going down and dirty Texan". BuyBulls will be called by name, then tossed in the garbage. "What, you want to turn into one of those? An... an... American? OMG!"

 

[CarbShark]

And yet Trump leads Harris in the polls, the prediction markets, and the forecast models (Nate Silver and The Economist). This would tend to suggest that your assumptions are wrong.

I couldn't find a 2024 forecast from the Economist, but on its website I did find recent polls and an article saying it's too early to draw any conclusions.

Do you have a link?

But as far as betting markets and Nate Silver go:


2024 Presidential Election Predictions & Odds | Who will be the next president?

Harris 53¢
Trump 49¢

Silver Bulletin 2024 presidential election forecast

With Kamala Harris having another day of reasonably strong polling, we’re now officially in the zone where we can call the race a toss-up. She has a 54 percent chance of winning Michigan, a 50 percent chance of winning Wisconsin, a 47 percent chance of winning Pennsylvania, and a 45 percent chance of winning the Electoral College.

 

[The_Animus]

And yet Trump leads Harris in the polls, the prediction markets, and the forecast models (Nate Silver and The Economist). This would tend to suggest that your assumptions are wrong.

No it doesn't. How'd that polling go last time showing we were in for a "red wave". It's almost as if polling isn't as reliable as it used to be.

And the economy does better under democrats but a lot of people are dumb and/or gullible. They attribute any negative such as inflation to the current president because figuring out what's actually going on is beyond them or because it's what they were told by right wing propaganda on Facebook and faux news.

 

[Thermal]

Probably been said already, but every time I see the OP question, I think that half the voters number one concern is to have a peaceful democracy where everyone's rights are valued, and the other half wants a white Christian ethnostate ruled by a draft dodging lying deadbeat pervert where the dirt bags know their place and you can shoot them when they get out of line. The rest is details.