The House GOP just gave Bidenā€™s campaign a huge gift
www.vox.com
Roughly 80 percent of House Republicans just lined up behind a plan to cut Social Security and ban all abortions.

Donald Trump would be on track to win a historic landslide in November ā€” if so many US voters didnā€™t find him personally repugnant.

Roughly 53 percent of Americans have anĀ unfavorable opinionĀ of the former president. And yet, when asked about Trumpā€™s ability to handle key issues ā€” or the impact of hisĀ policiesĀ ā€”Ā voters routinelyĀ giveĀ the Republican candidate higher marks thanĀ President Biden.

In aĀ YouGov surveyĀ released this month, Trump boasted an advantage over Biden on 10 of the 15 issues polled. On the three issues that votersĀ routinely nameĀ as top priorities ā€” theĀ economy, immigration, and inflation ā€” respondents said that Trump would do a better job by double-digit margins.

Meanwhile, in aĀ recent New York Times/Siena College poll,Ā 40 percent of voters said that Trumpā€™s policies had helped them personally, while just 18 percent said the same of Biden. If Americans could elect a normal human being with Trumpā€™s reputation for being ā€œtoughā€ on immigration and good at economics, they would almost certainly do so.

Biden is fortunate that voters do not have that option. But to erase Trumpā€™sĀ small but stubborn leadĀ in the polls, the president needs to erode his GOP rivalā€™s advantage on the issues.

  • empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    171Ā·
    8 months ago

    Itā€™s also because personal fulfillment and social connections (and a lot of physical activity) in western society are built entirely around work. You make friends at work, you talk to people at work, you walk around and move at work. Work is meant to sort of be your mental stimulation. So many people simply forget/donā€™t have the resources to develop connections outside of work, and then when they retire even with money they find themselves lost and aimless. Some find new ways to self-fufill, but others donā€™t. Without some external motivation forcing them to develop, they wither, because the system has not taught them otherwise.

    • MagicShel@programming.dev
      9Ā·
      8 months ago

      Eh. Work gives me none of that. Been remote since COVID. I do get mental stimulation but honestly I get plenty of that from social media and video games - keeps my mind active and focused. If I ever do get to retire Iā€™ll probably add woodworking to my hobbies. Most likely Iā€™ll either die working or get some horrible disease and die because I couldnā€™t work and lost insurance.

      But Iā€™ll tell you, Iā€™m fifty. Been in my career for twenty five years. I still enjoy what I do but Iā€™m getting fucking tired of the way software development is managed. People and corporations suck all the enjoyment out of otherwise fulfilling careers. Iā€™m not looking to retire but if I hit the lottery tomorrow (which I wonā€™t because I donā€™t gamble) I wouldnā€™t look back. Maybe Iā€™d go fishing with my dad more. Once he retires.

      • octopus_ink@lemmy.mlEnglish
        5Ā·
        8 months ago

        But Iā€™ll tell you, Iā€™m fifty. Been in my career for twenty five years. I still enjoy what I do but Iā€™m getting fucking tired of the way software development is managed. People and corporations suck all the enjoyment out of otherwise fulfilling careers. Iā€™m not looking to retire but if I hit the lottery tomorrow (which I wonā€™t because I donā€™t gamble) I wouldnā€™t look back. Maybe Iā€™d go fishing with my dad more. Once he retires.

        Weā€™re not so very different you and I. Take a couple words out and mad-lib them and I could have written this.

        Fist-bump fellow disgruntled Gen-Xā€™er. May we both win Fuck You money.

    • photonic_sorcerer@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      8Ā·
      8 months ago

      In western society? Bro, in Japan and S. Korea, theyā€™ve never heard of a work-life balance. This isnā€™t a western thing, this is a class issue.