Controversial Asides

[Elliot]

@Neo

I think I understand his strategy. If you want dems to win, maybe it’s better to support them publicly and criticize them privately. Play the same games the republicans play, don’t be charitable, do what it takes. But, I’m not even sure that’s a good strategy if winning is your goal. Loyal Dems will vote blue, so you have their vote already. Loyal republicans will vote red. So the ones you want to persuade are in the middle/conflicted. I think if you can criticize your side sometimes, it can actually bring in more of the undecided. They may appreciate the honesty.

I think you’re wrong strategically. Getting pre-existing Dems (who would never vote Repub) to vote instead of not vote is a big deal. Lots of political efforts focus on energizing the base and voter turnout rather than persuading independent or undecided voters. I don’t love this (it’s not good for debate, rational persuasion, truth seeking), but I see the logic to it. Persuading someone in the middle can be a lot more work than convincing someone already on your side to care enough to vote.