This looks like detailed work. I applaud the effort and time it took you Gabe.
I tried three times to read it and had to stop. It’s me, not your work. I can’t pinpoint if it’s because I had a migraine last night and my brain cells are still recovering or that statistics makes my brain glaze over or that I cannot, simply cannot, absorb any data right now that says the majority of the country I served is veering into hateful, tight-ass land.
Yes, immigration needs a complete do-over. We need multiple check-in points along our borders and next to major airports - nice buildings built strictly for this purpose. Enough personnel - admin, legal & medical - to run the check-ins. Clean, safe, nice dorms to house everyone coming in while their paperwork and background are checked. Good food, medical checks, interpreters…it’s not that difficult to set up nice facilities with clear cut rules. Some say “don’t come here!” (Harris) as if that’s the solution. Others take a ‘I hate everybody’ approach (miller, holman & trump). Where are the common sense policies? The humane policies? Unless you are 100% native born you are here because you or your ancestors immigrated here. Immigration is a legal right here. Let’s do it properly, ethically and humanely.
People need to quit acting like it’s their job or religious quest to tell other people how to live. Humans come in an amazing range of variety - cisgender, bisexual, nonbinary, transgender and so on. What business is it of one person to dictate to another who they are? I had to grow up in a religious cult that harangued and shamed other people to live by their rigid definitions of what kind of a person was acceptable. Thiy did this to people they didn’t know and didn’t even interact with. I’m sick & tired of this. Think of all the energy humans would have to solve hunger, poverty, justice inequality, economic inequality, cure diseases …if they’d just stop bothering others for who they are.
We all need to start focusing on improving our own lives and communities in order to improve society as a whole and not by excluding others for who they are or where they’re from.
Let's remember that voters do not vote for policies and platforms. They select an individual candidate from a choice of two.
In 2016 Trump's opponent was a candidate actively disliked and distrusted by many voters; very poor choice by the Democratic Party via it's primary system.
In 2024 Trump's opponent was a candidate who did not excite enough voters, had a record of profond failure in the 2020 primaries, and was selected by a single individual, Joe Biden, when he chose his 2020 running mate. (That she would be easy to defeat in 2024 was immediately apparent to me the moment he chose her.)
So we do not have a Trump or MAGA mandate. We have a strategic and repetitive failure of the Democratic Party to nominate the strongest candidate.
They are not conservatives. Conservatism is not hate or vengeance or beating up police officers or violating the constitution. Also much of what seems to be agreement is based on the lies that the legacy media reported without fact checking. It is supported by the big tech super wealthy because they see it as a way to solidify their wealth and keep their fragile egos supported by keeping score with money. The one thing that makes a ton of sense is that people who do not really pay attention to factual reporting do not comprehend the implications of the orange guy’s “promises” and they have little if any recollection of any civics lessons they may have received. And the orange guy “promised” what he has already said he can’t deliver — cheaper eggs/groceries, cheaper gas, and revenge for the little guy. You know that, I know that and everyone who actually pays attention to facts knows that. One last point neutral reporting is NOT truthful reporting. Truth and facts require acknowledging that the orange guy is out to secure wealth and admiration for himself and that he gives not one iota of a damn about anyone who works for a living.
Been a follower since your bedroom days. Your strong suit has always been clear unbiased coverage of national psyche. This piece has been needed to restore the balance since the swearing in. Thank you
"In general, one of my great frustrations in politics is that it feels like so many people (from professional talking heads to casual conversation partners) make broad, confident statements about public opinion (usually about how their stance on an issue is widely shared) without even trying to check to see if the claim is true."
Well, you hit the ol' nail on the head here, Gabe.
“One thing that jumps out pretty clearly from this graph is that Trump does command broad public support in two categories: immigration (especially in {{deporting} [s/b removed]} deportations of undocumented immigrants with criminal records) and transgender rights.” Although no one thing totally accounts for Trump’s support on these issues, I think if you allow an expansive definition of the main terms this explains a lot: ‘According to many perspectives HATE is generally considered easier to evoke than LOVE; it can be ignited more readily by fear, anger, and negativity, while love often requires deeper connection, understanding, and sustained effort to cultivate.’
“Birthright citizenship is also popular;” that’s good, because it’s guaranteed by our Constitution.
Getting a good education, learning civics and understanding history are important parts of a thinking, committed US electorate that is forward-looking, rather than individuals just lining their own pockets (at the expense of those who lack education, civics and history).
Wait, I am confused. I thought immigrants with criminal records have always been routinely deported, whether they are documented or not. How is this a liberal vs conservative issue?
The law is the law; the political delta is in the execution.
Conservatives/Republicans support strict enforcement, demanding coordination between ICE and local & state authorities...and also C's/R's look away at noncriminal immigration enforcement/deportations that come along with stricter criminal deportation efforts.
Liberals/Democrats don't support protecting criminals...but they do support "sanctuary cities"; they criticize racial profiling; they fight Republican-administration federal enforcement coordination with Democratic local & state authorities. And they often favor not enforcing noncriminal immigration violations, at the expense of being more forceful in pursuing criminal immigration violations.
With all that said...the Biden administration still deported more illegal immigrants, of all kinds (criminal and noncriminal) than ANY administration, Democrat or Republican, in the past 30 years.
It’s the economy stupid still. The huge influx of visible unskilled, unschooled, unhealthy migrants coincided with and became connected to higher prices in housing and choke points for other services (schools, medical care access). The experts are neither clear nor convincing in their cost analysis of the hyper immigration we have experienced since 1965. RE: transgender rights, gender dysphoria is hard to comprehend. The unfairness of having a person with more muscle on the same playing field with someone with less muscle is easy to understand. Transgender rights should not have chosen to die on that hill.
The data in your "Public opinion" graph is mislabeled for many items. For instance, for "making Canada a state", you have 21% for the "more liberal" position, and 67% for the "more conservative position". But looking at WSJ polling chart, 21% favor "Make Canada our 51st state", and 67% oppose. I would say you have these reversed. It appears "Favor" and "Oppose" got mislabeled as "liberal" and "conservative" in all cases, which is not true.
Looking more closely, I see you have colored the dots. But the left and right "liberal" and "conservative" labels still don't match. I'm thinking you were trying to label the blue dots as liberal and red as conservative. Changing the left and right labels to "Favor" and "Oppose" would help.
I wish we'd quit referring to them as conservatives. There's nothing conservative about any of this. They are Trumpian Nazis.
This looks like detailed work. I applaud the effort and time it took you Gabe.
I tried three times to read it and had to stop. It’s me, not your work. I can’t pinpoint if it’s because I had a migraine last night and my brain cells are still recovering or that statistics makes my brain glaze over or that I cannot, simply cannot, absorb any data right now that says the majority of the country I served is veering into hateful, tight-ass land.
Yes, immigration needs a complete do-over. We need multiple check-in points along our borders and next to major airports - nice buildings built strictly for this purpose. Enough personnel - admin, legal & medical - to run the check-ins. Clean, safe, nice dorms to house everyone coming in while their paperwork and background are checked. Good food, medical checks, interpreters…it’s not that difficult to set up nice facilities with clear cut rules. Some say “don’t come here!” (Harris) as if that’s the solution. Others take a ‘I hate everybody’ approach (miller, holman & trump). Where are the common sense policies? The humane policies? Unless you are 100% native born you are here because you or your ancestors immigrated here. Immigration is a legal right here. Let’s do it properly, ethically and humanely.
People need to quit acting like it’s their job or religious quest to tell other people how to live. Humans come in an amazing range of variety - cisgender, bisexual, nonbinary, transgender and so on. What business is it of one person to dictate to another who they are? I had to grow up in a religious cult that harangued and shamed other people to live by their rigid definitions of what kind of a person was acceptable. Thiy did this to people they didn’t know and didn’t even interact with. I’m sick & tired of this. Think of all the energy humans would have to solve hunger, poverty, justice inequality, economic inequality, cure diseases …if they’d just stop bothering others for who they are.
We all need to start focusing on improving our own lives and communities in order to improve society as a whole and not by excluding others for who they are or where they’re from.
Thank you for this post. I appreciate getting factual information from professional sources. Historical data provides a more balanced perspective.
Your posts are the only ones I’m reading right now bc everything else is filled with too much drama.
Let's remember that voters do not vote for policies and platforms. They select an individual candidate from a choice of two.
In 2016 Trump's opponent was a candidate actively disliked and distrusted by many voters; very poor choice by the Democratic Party via it's primary system.
In 2024 Trump's opponent was a candidate who did not excite enough voters, had a record of profond failure in the 2020 primaries, and was selected by a single individual, Joe Biden, when he chose his 2020 running mate. (That she would be easy to defeat in 2024 was immediately apparent to me the moment he chose her.)
So we do not have a Trump or MAGA mandate. We have a strategic and repetitive failure of the Democratic Party to nominate the strongest candidate.
They are not conservatives. Conservatism is not hate or vengeance or beating up police officers or violating the constitution. Also much of what seems to be agreement is based on the lies that the legacy media reported without fact checking. It is supported by the big tech super wealthy because they see it as a way to solidify their wealth and keep their fragile egos supported by keeping score with money. The one thing that makes a ton of sense is that people who do not really pay attention to factual reporting do not comprehend the implications of the orange guy’s “promises” and they have little if any recollection of any civics lessons they may have received. And the orange guy “promised” what he has already said he can’t deliver — cheaper eggs/groceries, cheaper gas, and revenge for the little guy. You know that, I know that and everyone who actually pays attention to facts knows that. One last point neutral reporting is NOT truthful reporting. Truth and facts require acknowledging that the orange guy is out to secure wealth and admiration for himself and that he gives not one iota of a damn about anyone who works for a living.
Been a follower since your bedroom days. Your strong suit has always been clear unbiased coverage of national psyche. This piece has been needed to restore the balance since the swearing in. Thank you
"In general, one of my great frustrations in politics is that it feels like so many people (from professional talking heads to casual conversation partners) make broad, confident statements about public opinion (usually about how their stance on an issue is widely shared) without even trying to check to see if the claim is true."
Well, you hit the ol' nail on the head here, Gabe.
Thank you for the information and distillation. Very good analysis and writing.
“One thing that jumps out pretty clearly from this graph is that Trump does command broad public support in two categories: immigration (especially in {{deporting} [s/b removed]} deportations of undocumented immigrants with criminal records) and transgender rights.” Although no one thing totally accounts for Trump’s support on these issues, I think if you allow an expansive definition of the main terms this explains a lot: ‘According to many perspectives HATE is generally considered easier to evoke than LOVE; it can be ignited more readily by fear, anger, and negativity, while love often requires deeper connection, understanding, and sustained effort to cultivate.’
“Birthright citizenship is also popular;” that’s good, because it’s guaranteed by our Constitution.
Getting a good education, learning civics and understanding history are important parts of a thinking, committed US electorate that is forward-looking, rather than individuals just lining their own pockets (at the expense of those who lack education, civics and history).
Wait, I am confused. I thought immigrants with criminal records have always been routinely deported, whether they are documented or not. How is this a liberal vs conservative issue?
The law is the law; the political delta is in the execution.
Conservatives/Republicans support strict enforcement, demanding coordination between ICE and local & state authorities...and also C's/R's look away at noncriminal immigration enforcement/deportations that come along with stricter criminal deportation efforts.
Liberals/Democrats don't support protecting criminals...but they do support "sanctuary cities"; they criticize racial profiling; they fight Republican-administration federal enforcement coordination with Democratic local & state authorities. And they often favor not enforcing noncriminal immigration violations, at the expense of being more forceful in pursuing criminal immigration violations.
With all that said...the Biden administration still deported more illegal immigrants, of all kinds (criminal and noncriminal) than ANY administration, Democrat or Republican, in the past 30 years.
Trump = jealous (?)
It’s the economy stupid still. The huge influx of visible unskilled, unschooled, unhealthy migrants coincided with and became connected to higher prices in housing and choke points for other services (schools, medical care access). The experts are neither clear nor convincing in their cost analysis of the hyper immigration we have experienced since 1965. RE: transgender rights, gender dysphoria is hard to comprehend. The unfairness of having a person with more muscle on the same playing field with someone with less muscle is easy to understand. Transgender rights should not have chosen to die on that hill.
Your Grok candle image has about 63 states. What gives? I hope they don’t help write your report!
Admit failures by woke leaders (Newsom) are increasing the move right.
The data in your "Public opinion" graph is mislabeled for many items. For instance, for "making Canada a state", you have 21% for the "more liberal" position, and 67% for the "more conservative position". But looking at WSJ polling chart, 21% favor "Make Canada our 51st state", and 67% oppose. I would say you have these reversed. It appears "Favor" and "Oppose" got mislabeled as "liberal" and "conservative" in all cases, which is not true.
Looking more closely, I see you have colored the dots. But the left and right "liberal" and "conservative" labels still don't match. I'm thinking you were trying to label the blue dots as liberal and red as conservative. Changing the left and right labels to "Favor" and "Oppose" would help.
Here again I am confused. How can crackpot notions like making Canada a state or taking over Greenland be labeled either liberal or conservative?