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Someone needs to walk Democrats through the rise of Richard Nixon, our most dangerous post-WW2 president. Key factors include a failing, unpopular war that Nixon disavowed, promising a "secret plan" to end it. Johnson lost many antiwar voters either to abstention or Nixon.
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(I'm going to put on my policy and politics analyst hat for this thread and disregard morality. I hope some Democrats who want to defeat Trump are listening.)
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The fact that Nixon was militaristic and authoritarian, and would ultimately escalate the bombing of SE Asia did not prevent this outcome.
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I will shout this story from the rooftops to persuade people to vote against Trump, but for today, the initiative is in the White House.
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Morality aside, it is politically disastrous to start a war of unknown outcome in an election year. It's politically suicidal to do so without getting the opposition party to co-sign on the need for the war.
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In 1968, the Nixon campaign carried out back-channel negotiations with North Vietnam to delay peace talks and deny LBJ an exit to the war. This year, Trump could use its ties with either Netanyahu or the Gulf States to make things worse for Biden.
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There "free shipping lanes" voting bloc doesn't exist. And voters affected by inflation will not vote as if their future depends on Red Sea navigation.
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Meanwhile, the number of voters alienated by genocidal violence in Gaza only continues to grow. Bombing in alignment with Israel broadens and deepens this problem for Biden.
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Put another way, a politician who bets his electoral future on an alliance with Benjamin Netanyahu is not prioritizing defending American democracy.
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Strategic questions for 2024: x.com/CarwilBJ/status/1742001810439573616?t=V6ZdfJQrOCDJgFl9c3vpFg&s=19
