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Elizabeth's avatar

"One of the things that drew me to Biden is that he's incapable of creating a cult of personality."

Hard same. I am deeply uncomfortable with cults of personality and with anyone who's looking for a political messiah. It just strikes me as so childish. Elections are a hiring process. You don't need someone who gives you a "tingle up the leg," just someone who can get the job done. Frankly, I think the traits necessary to govern well have little overlap with the traits necessary to campaign well, and the fact that our system selects more for the latter than the former is probably a major cause of our problems.

If Josh (or anyone) has theories about what drives people to look for the Great Leader, I'd be fascinated to read them.

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James White's avatar

I also wonder about the ongoing optics of abortion for Republicans. These stories of teenage girls being forced to carry a dead fetus, or their rapist's baby--however rare--are pretty visceral and relatable in a way that an avoided abortion (because it's now illegal) isn't. Maybe some states get that addressed but I'm guessing there will be at least a few states where abortion remains banned without exceptions. That's because of countervailing pressure from the next goal of the pro-life movement: fetal person-hood. It feels like Republicans will be defending unpopular turf for the foreseeable future with pressure from the inside to adopt positions even further from the mainstream.

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