deathmtn

Consider that over the last 36 years, Republican presidential candidates have only ONCE won the popular vote, and that was DURING A WAR. If presidents were elected democratically, the GOP would be forced to adopt more popular policies, or they would cease to exist as as a viable national party. As a game designer, I am well aware that water finds a crack; the Republican party is taking a rational approach to how our system works. The answer is not to hope that the GOP magically starts to care about what the American people want; the answer is to change the system, which may sound hopeless, but there are always little changes that could make a difference. Ranked-choice voting, for example, is at least a stab at avoiding ideologically extreme choices.

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Furthermore, as William Goldman said, “Nobody knows anything.” Biden’s withdrawal from the race in favor of Harris is the obviously correct move in retrospect, but what political scientist possibly could have predicted this sudden 16-point favorability swing immediately after she became the nominee, which was also a much smoother process than anyone could have predicted.