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Colin B's avatar

CNN just ran a story about Kamala’s team running Palestine sympathetic ads in Michigan at the same time that they’re running Israel sympathetic ads in Pennsylvania.

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Sarah Smythe's avatar

I haven’t seen the ads, but also…

I’m Palestine sympathetic *and * Israel sympathetic. Why can’t she be too? She may genuinely think her approach will help Palestinians *and* Israelis.

Like the “Great Taste, Less Filling” wars of whenever the fuck that ad was, is it possible she thinks her policy is just that same beer? One ad for people whose pants are maybe a bit tight, one ad for… I don’t know, people who like stuff that tastes good? Same same though?

That’s not lying (unless the policies she’s advertising are incompatible).

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Colin B's avatar

Yeah, I think what I’d say to that is she hasn’t articulated her policies beyond whatever J’Biden’s policies have been. It’s empty signaling to different bases.

The one tailored to the Jewish constituents edited out the sentence in the middle about Palestine deserving self determination.

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Sarah Smythe's avatar

You’re probably right. Like I said, I haven’t seen the ads. I was really just saying that merely pitching your policies to two different audiences from two different angles wasn’t *necessarily* suspect.

Of course, it very well might be.

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Colin B's avatar

https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/01/politics/video/kfile-different-messages-harris-campaign-israel-gaza-ebof-digvid

You might come away from it with a different impression than me, but here’s the CNN segment.

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Sarah Smythe's avatar

Ooof.

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jojoZ's avatar

Most normal people want to reduce casualties in Palestine and are concerned about the actions of the Israeli government AND want to defend the existence of the state of Israel.

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PNWGirl's avatar

The Israelis are trying very hard to reduce Palestinian casualties - they seem much more concerned about it than Hamas is.

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Jennifer's avatar

Yikes. I meant align with nationwide popular policies, not do the middle school “in this group I’m a goth” “in this group I’m a jock” thing.

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Colin B's avatar

Yeah, she’s doing some of that too. But you add it all together and it equals an empty vessel that is frankly not very good at selling any of this.

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Jennifer's avatar

I’d be more than happy (ecstatic, even) with a president with strong executive skills and no strong positions beyond respecting the rule of law and due process and defending against our enemies. Coming out of California I feel like I have seen this heavy emphasis on having strong all-or-nothing opinions on every last issue, and it really doesn’t make anything better, just makes the races, especially the primaries, nastier.

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Colin B's avatar

Yeah, I’d be happy with that. Boy would I like to be choosing between Nikki Haley and Josh Shapiro.

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Jo's avatar

so happy

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Somethingsomething's avatar

So has Trump— I’m in Dearborn and get so much political shit to sway the vote here

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Colin B's avatar

Yeah, Trump went to Dearborn to kiss babies, didn’t he? The Arab + Trump alliance seems more like a protest vote to me, but what do I know.

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Somethingsomething's avatar

But also a protest vote is dumb when the guy you are voting for has precisely the political stance that you are protesting against.

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Colin B's avatar

I’m going to attempt to read minds, here.

They see themselves as part of the democratic constituency that’s been ignored. So even if Donald Trump would be slightly worse for their cause than “genocide Joe,” voting for him would send a message to the Democrats that their vote isn’t a given and they need to be listened to.

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Somethingsomething's avatar

Also there is a real generational and gender divide among Arab Americans (and religious one as well) in Dearborn. There are a lot of middle age guys spending time complaining about LGBTQ+ people in schools that will find Trump attractive and younger women who are very progressive.

Also this from our mayor seems to be a good insight: The architect of the Muslim Ban is making a campaign stop in Dearborn. People in this community know what Trump stands for - we suffered through it for years. I’ve refused a sit down with him although the requests keep pouring in.

Trump will never be my president.

To the Dems - your unwillingness to stop funding & enabling a genocide created the space for Trump to infiltrate our communities. Remember that.

https://x.com/AHammoudMI/status/1852397067601072369

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Colin B's avatar

Yeah, that all makes sense.

Muslims who are willing to overlook the Muslim ban is interesting to me. I don’t really have a finger on the pulse of the Muslim community, but I know a bunch of Trumpy Mexican Americans. Closing the door behind an immigrant doesn’t always read the way progressives expect. Iranians might not have wanted Iran to follow them, and they’re going to be more conservative than their white girl advocates.

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Somethingsomething's avatar

It’s not just white girls— it’s a gender divide period.

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Somethingsomething's avatar

Yeah, it’s weird and now people are boycotting my favorite lunch place bc he visited it, which I also think is stupid.

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DG Price's avatar

Ooof. You never want your wife to see the valentines card you got for your mistress.

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HK Ferguson's avatar

This is a false dichotomy that exists only on the internet. It’s perfectly possible to want the best for people in both Israel and Palestine.

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Colin B's avatar

Putting this comment on the internet is going to open a black hole.

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Martin Blank's avatar

I mean that is sadly politics 101. Even sainted people like Wellstone, who was supposedly super principled. Well if you paid attention he mostly told audiences whatever they wanted to hear in speeches.

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Colin B's avatar

The stakes are a bit high to be playing that tune though, right?

She’s now switched to a strategy of not saying what she does or doesn’t support because it’s too close to the election.

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Martin Blank's avatar

They are all a bunch of dishonest jackals and this is frankly a shitty way to pick leaders that is almost designed to produce shitty ones.

How many actually good presidents have we had out of the last 10. 2, 3?

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