Is this thread meant to be the general election thread? Because if so (the title should be changed) then I'll point out that Biden is favored among active-duty troops according to a recent poll. This was not true in 2016, where Trump was heavily favored against Hillary. Notable that Trump's numbers haven't moved much, mostly they just didn't like Clinton:

Playing good defense with a lead. No leaks. No mistakes.

They are doing a very good job managing an imperfect ticket.

I think they will have to play some more offense as the race tightens, but thus far, they look on point.

Trump is chaos. As Littlefinger said, Chaos is a ladder, so maybe it will work out again for him, but, the Biden campaign seems to have a lot more clear strategy than the Hillary campaign did.

They will need Biden out there and he is gaffe prone, but this point, they have managed their candidate and the media to perfection.

Look, Biden is not Barrack Obama, Bernie Sanders or Mayor Pete. He is s not going to garner a ton of enthusiasm. Work with what you have. It's been impressive to this point.

I'm making a general thread for the 2020 United States elections and and will probably move some election-related posts over here (some do probably belong in their original threads).

It's a heated election, but try to keep it bearably civil. Remember that attacking the argument rather than the man will considerably reduce the risk of a post being moved to the containment thread. Flamebaiting or hit'n'run posting will be looked upon dimly.

We're part of a forum where gambling is an over-aching theme, so betting predictions, odds discussions and similar are on topic.

There are many good resources for seeing polls, election-related data or fact-checking efforts. As a group we probably know a fair bit about these. If anybody want to post such resources here, I can edit them into the OP.

Surprised nobody's talking about this? I know it's Maine, but hopefully the first of many:

Maine Will Be The First-Ever State To Use Ranked-Choice Voting For A Presidential Election

(Paywall, use incognito mode)

I can see it alleviating unethical tactics like promoting third party candidates as means of subversion or stop the most negative effects of first-past-the-post. It could also make extremely divisive political tactics less effective.

On the other hand I can also see it making third party candidates even less able to make an impact, reducing their ability to influence elections. It could also raise the bar for candidates to rise above prejudice.

I thought the whole point was to make it MORE possible for third-party candidates to gain traction; e.g. you want to vote Green, but getting Trump out is your top priority. So in any other state you would have to vote Biden, but in ME you vote 1. Green 2. Biden 74833. Trump... right?

Yeah, it makes very little difference to greens/libs actually being elected or winning EC votes but does let them say, "we got 10% first preference in state x, let's have a fairer voting system"

That's fair enough, that you can gain traction from being easier to choose for a voter. I was thinking more that their ability to change election outcomes (not necessarily winning) will be lessened, so the larger parties can more safely ignore them or the issues they bring to the table.

Ever since I heard this saying I can’t help but think it’s 100% true..

This is why I will never vote ever again. I would be sooner to join a revolution than actually vote as I don’t think our vote matters.

Let’s talk about trump... he’s the ultimate troll for both parties...

He literally gets everyone worked up wether you’re for him or against him you’re probably worked up just reading his name.

Liberals have their parties in a bunch and Conservatives have this forced bravado and they both come off as petty and dumb

Rank-choice voting is more meaningful in legislatures, where you can more easily split the pie. For a presidential election with a single winner, the incentives still point to two-person races (why weaken your vote?).

There are 330M people in the US, of course our votes for President don't matter much on an individual level. If you want to make a difference in your voting, focus on local elections, where often only a few thousand people vote, but where the person elected can make a material difference in your own life. It's also generally easy to actually talk to that politician or their staff if you want to know who you are voting for rather than relying on political ads or media talking heads.

Voting in a democratic republic is pointless... if we had true democracy the masses of people are too stupid to pick the right candidate even on a micro level say first selectmen or state rep etc.

The masses will always fall for the two party false paradigm and think if only their party gets elected then everything will be better.

I know my local puppet on a personal level and we’re friends on Facebook and family friends albeit through my wife. He even answers my personal political questions which is nice. These politicians are usually all like able when you get to know them.

But he still shills so hard for one party and falls completely for the 2 party false paradigm. The more I get to know him the more I know it to be true that there’s literally only 2 predictable ways in which people view the world.

People reliably overestimate how much partisans accept their own ideology and how negatively they view the other side, so I think the bolded is false. However, my main point was that your vote does matter in local elections. The fact that you don't like the candidates running doesn't change that.

A 4 hour debate between Biden and Trump monitored by Joe Rogan would be amazing and possibly one of the most watched events ever.

I actually like all the candidates as people. The problem is they’re all puppets. So until we accept that the puppet masters run the show then we will just have to talk past each other.

Nah, the puppet master claim is false. No one has anything approaching that level of control of US politics.

As much as people say Biden is gaffe prone, he’s really been running a mostly error-free campaign this far.

Trolly:

In a televised debate, I could see Trump [inadvertently] falling into a trap. If he gets a little hot under the collar after being subjected to a carefully-prepared-in-advance Biden zinger; he might rashly strike back noting Biden's "touchy feely" style of campaigning and how some people consider such behavior creepy. Biden's [devastating] response would be simple: He places a tape recorder on his podium - very close to the microphone - and replays the [unedited] Access Hollywood tape. (It will be popcorn time watching Trump's face turn red.)

I read somewhere that Biden's top advisors have consulted with mental health experts on talking points most likely to get under Trump's skin. According to Woodward's book and other sources, Trump is notorious for flying into rages when he's away from the cameras. If Biden is successful in triggering a Presidential meltdown before a live audience of millions, that will probably seal Trump's fate. Such a spectacle would be roughly equivalent to Nixon's profuse sweating during the first [televised] Presidential debate back in 1960. People who heard that debate on the radio thought Nixon had won, but people who saw Nixon wiping sweat away from his brow while appearing nervous and rattled, (in contrast to Kennedy's calm and reassuring manner), gave the nod to Senator Kennedy.

Presidential debates are high stakes poker as appearance, (i.e. how you're perceived and how you come across), are important.

What about lobbyists?
Chroni capitalism?
What about big pharma?
The dairy lobby?
The meat lobby?
MSM
The Federal Reserve
International banking

Etc?

These things just don’t exist ?

You might get your wish.

They exist, they just aren't puppet masters. Their interests often conflict or differ from each other and there are many other powerful stakeholders such as unions and interest groups as well as politicians who want to be reelected.

I mean there's zero way Biden accepts the Rogan request

True, it would require him to leave his basement. But it sure would be interesting if he did.

Trump probably just goes on Rogan by himself if Biden doesn't want to do the debate.