Althouse: If Election Day were tomorrow, who would Althouse vote for? Who should she vote for?

September 23, 2024

If Election Day were tomorrow, who would Althouse vote for? Who should she vote for?

This is just a survey for you to answer. I may respond in the end if moved.

95 comments:

Joe said...: A vote for Harris is a vote for "Death to America".; 9/23/24, 7:49 AM
Iman said...: I'm praying to you! Look in your heart. I'm praying to you... look in your heart... look in your heart!; 9/23/24, 7:56 AM
Bob Boyd said...: A vote for Harris is a vote for the headless horsemen.; 9/23/24, 7:58 AM
rehajm said...: I picked would Harris/should Trump but Ann’s dropped some ideas to suggest Harris and the Democrats have left an opening for Trump. It depends on how strong the abortion issue is in the mind of a law professor what taught a class on abortion law is…and the fact the poll has emerged on an abortion day means she prolly has something to say about the subject and it ain't ‘I’ve changed my mind’…Hence my guess it’s Kamala…; 9/23/24, 8:00 AM
gspencer said...: Fully expect AA to vote as an MSM "educated" liberal.; 9/23/24, 8:07 AM
Bob Boyd said...: JFK Jr.
Nicole Shanahan
Elon Musk
David Sacks
Jeffrey Sachs
Joe Rogan
Scott Adams
Tulsi Gabbard
Lawrence Meade
Joe Exotic; 9/23/24, 8:07 AM
Jaq said...: Ah, a test of our empathy!

I am going to say that I don't know the answer, but the possibility that reaches out most strongly is "Will vote for Trump, should vote for no one," but that's probably projection on my part, disguised as empathy.; 9/23/24, 8:12 AM
rhhardin said...: Whatever it is with Althouse, it will make no sense.; 9/23/24, 8:13 AM
Dixcus said...: The real answer is that it doesn't matter who Althouse votes for, since our elections are fixed.

Kamala Harris is your next President. She's been selected, not elected.; 9/23/24, 8:13 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/23/24, 8:14 AM
Jaq said...: By this I mean that while voting for Trump, she feels that she really shouldn't vote for either, not that I think that she should vote for no one.

I might vote for Harris, because the quickest way to put an end to America's overseas empire is through economic collapse, and with the money that she is promising to spend "if elected," it would not be far off. But I won't vote for Harris, because I do still love my country.; 9/23/24, 8:14 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: Fee Fi
Fo Foring
I sense cruel neutrality
And support for boring; 9/23/24, 8:15 AM
Jaq said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/23/24, 8:15 AM
Jaq said...: If only "boring" were on the ballot. I fear that "interesting" is all we are going to get between Trump and the Democrats' Hobson's candidate. We should call this the Chinese curse election.; 9/23/24, 8:17 AM
Kate said...: I picked the way you chose in 2020. In retrospect, I'm probably wrong. Trump is more predictable than his opponent this time, and predictable is boring.; 9/23/24, 8:18 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Maybe she's become bored with Trump; 9/23/24, 8:26 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Forgot Matt Taibbi; 9/23/24, 8:27 AM
Iman said...: Listen to Harris’s running mate Walz:

“We can’t afford four more years of this.”

and vote accordingly.; 9/23/24, 8:32 AM
Jersey Fled said...: I think Ann would be embarrassed to have Harris be our first female President.; 9/23/24, 8:34 AM
gilbar said...: of course; it Just Doesn't Matter.. Wisconsin is going to be counted Democrat; 9/23/24, 8:36 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: Maybe two more assassination attempts before November will garner renewed interest.; 9/23/24, 8:36 AM
MadTownGuy said...: My wife and I sat out the 2020 election because we had just moved to PA and weren't able to register in time for November. We were still registered in WI, and could have requested mail-in ballots, but only if we lied about having PA residency. I might have held my nose and voted for Trump that year - can't speak for my wife as it's her business - but in either case, my vote by itself wouldn't have changed the outcome.

This year, because the PA Supreme Court wisely negated defective ballots, I'm more confident that my vote will count.; 9/23/24, 8:41 AM
tim maguire said...: Interesting that, so far, "should vote for Trump" is the overwhelming winner, but "will vote for Trump" and "will vote for Harris" are almost exactly split.

I suppose that's cruel neutrality before a group of Trump supporters.; 9/23/24, 8:42 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: Millions would be, but support for the Secret Society of Extraordinary GrrrlBosses takes precedence over all embarrassment and discomfort. Letting icky boys know how they really feel about Harris? Perish the thought!

The shall maintain the pact and just focus on teasing Harris till she develops some species of eating disorder.; 9/23/24, 8:47 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Biden has promised the next assassin will be a woman of color. - The Babylon Bee; 9/23/24, 8:49 AM
Dave Begley said...: I certainly hope Ann tells us what she's going to do and not keep us waiting. As Althouse goes, so goes the nation!; 9/23/24, 8:54 AM
RideSpaceMountain said...: After seeing Ryan Wesley Routh's blue-stained hair, the 4th assassin will be some flavor of transgendered twin-spirited pyro-fox, I just know it.; 9/23/24, 8:59 AM
Gusty Winds said...: The two directions available are completely opposite. To the disappointment of 1970s and 1980s feminists, Kamala is controlled by Democrats, Neocons, and the deep state... all steering us toward totalitarianism. This is so much bigger than "the first female President." Trump needs WI. Probably the hardest of the swing states to win. Drop boxes will be stuffed with fraudulent absentee ballots. Milwaukee will again produce statistically impossible tallies from some precincts. 95% voted, 99% voted for Harris. Saw it in 2020.; 9/23/24, 9:13 AM
Michael K said...: If only.. ..; 9/23/24, 9:13 AM
ChuckUnderscore said...: Why in the world should anyone vote for Kamala?; 9/23/24, 9:16 AM
Maynard said...: Althouse said she could not vote for Biden because of his blatant lies about Trump's Chancellorsville speech. Why would she vote for Kamala-lala-ding-dong?

I doubt that Althouse will openly support Trump, but anything is possible these days.; 9/23/24, 9:26 AM
Steven said...: This is an oddly worded question. Why is it in the subjunctive? It seems to beg for a second clause, e.g, who would Althouse vote for, if she votes/if she were to vote/if she would vote? All the possibilities suggest she does not plan to vote.; 9/23/24, 9:38 AM
n.n said...: Coulda, woulda, shoulda had a V8.; 9/23/24, 9:45 AM
Clyde said...: At 10:44 EDT, poll is 376 “should vote for Trump” options combined, 18 “should vote for Harris” options combined. Small sample, of course, but if America was as wise as the Althouse commentariat, the election would be a landslide.; 9/23/24, 9:47 AM
Freder Frederson said...: You forgot to include the option: "Other than Meade, who cares?"; 9/23/24, 10:05 AM
Freder Frederson said...: So I guess the blatant lies about eating cats and dogs will rule out Trump, too.; 9/23/24, 10:06 AM
Aggie said...: I did not vote, although I appreciate the proposition. I have great faith that Ms Althouses vote will be a well informed one, and judging from what she has been saying for the past year, it would seem that her options are clear.; 9/23/24, 10:18 AM
Temujin said...: Pretty funny post. Funnier comments.; 9/23/24, 10:32 AM
wordsmith said...: To me this blog has long looked like an effort to sanewash Trump in order to appease and validate a commentariat that consists largely of QAnoners and conspiracy theorists, so I'm guessing that Ann is more committed to holding onto her audience than she is to anything else.; 9/23/24, 10:49 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I just heard Sam Eliot made a political commercial for Kamala Harris. I voted Althouse should have gone for Trump but now after the Sam Eliot commercial, Althouse is voting for Harris.; 9/23/24, 11:03 AM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: Boring = drilling, correct? Maybe she's subtly telling us she's all for "Drill, baby, drill!" now.; 9/23/24, 11:05 AM
Iman said...: eat teh cat, eat eat teh cat, Fredo.; 9/23/24, 11:33 AM
William said...: The surprising thing is not that she'll vote for Harris but that she occasionally expresses sympathy for Trump. I live in NYC, and the hostility that people express towards him cannot be exaggerated.......If Harris wins, it will be four unbroken years of cringe moments. I don't think she'll take us over the cliff, but she'll be constantly hitting against the guard rails.....If Trump wins, it will be four years of chaos--not because of his policies but because of the way the media depicts him. It's very hard to govern effectively when the media is so hysterically antagonistic. Some Republicans have pulled it off, but Trump not so much.; 9/23/24, 12:06 PM
Freder Frederson said...: Brilliant response!; 9/23/24, 12:38 PM
Mark said...: You should be you. But I've been getting vibes the other way.; 9/23/24, 12:54 PM
Rabel said...: A small but interesting point - I saw a Harris ad on the TV yesterday. She was reading something offscreen and I'd swear they had auto-tuned her voice to remove most of the nasality.

Fakery on top of fakery. Who is this woman? What does she really think? What will she do if elected?

We don't know and they won't tell us.

How can anyone give her their vote?; 9/23/24, 12:59 PM
flophouse philosopher said...: Trump/Trump. Althouse seems concerned about the Democrats' attacks on freedom of speech and their efforts to jail their political opponents.; 9/23/24, 1:04 PM
rehajm said...: Not even 1 to 9 odds would prevent me from a long position in the affirmative on that one…; 9/23/24, 1:05 PM
Old and slow said...: Your biggest problem isn’t that you are stupid, it’s that you are boring.; 9/23/24, 1:06 PM
Eva Marie said...: My advice: don’t reveal your vote - too much hate going to go your way either way. And you will never hear the end of it.; 9/23/24, 1:08 PM
Amadeus 48 said...: If one believes the choice is between bad and worse, go with bad. Vote for TRUMP! It could be worse.; 9/23/24, 1:10 PM
Lilly, a dog said...: Will our inscrutable hostess reveal which answer was "correct?"; 9/23/24, 1:12 PM
The Vault Dweller said...: hmm 34 votes for some version of should vote for Harris, and nearly 700 votes for some version of should vote for Trump. Unlike most folks on the left, the Harris supporters in this blog's commentariat aren't afraid to go into the Lion's Den.; 9/23/24, 1:13 PM
Steven said...: After re-reading the original post, I see that the options were to be read as second clause to the initial "If the election were held today,...." So my complaint is off base.; 9/23/24, 1:28 PM
Richard Dolan said...: Years ago, AA posted about not voting at all when the choices are bad (at least, that's my memory of it). Not accepting the need to choose between two bad options is a way to express oneself at the ballot box -- more common in other countries than here. I suspect her views haven't changed.; 9/23/24, 1:33 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I agree with Eva Marie, don’t reveal your vote.; 9/23/24, 1:34 PM
planetgeo said...: I suspect you're going to vote for Trump, but I suggest you keep it to yourself. You've kept a good balance here, whether you're actually neutral or not. And that makes this a very open and attractive site (in addition to your eclectic interests and blog topics).

While I have my own political preferences, I enjoy hearing the opinions and experiencing the personalities of others who don't think like I do. Respectful sparring is fun. That happens here. A semblance of neutrality from the host is good. I for one hope it stays that way.; 9/23/24, 1:46 PM
Steven said...: I, too, fear exactly this. My friends and family, who are scattered around the country, are incredibly hostile towards Trump and his supporters, whom they routinely call "magats." I am so old I can remember when liberals objected to dehumanizing opponents on the grounds that it made it easier to stir the ignorant population up to use violence against these "vermin." I have not seen any of my liberal friends object to this terminology.

The only thing that seems to motivate any of them is a hysterical fear of Trump and the urgent need to secure the right to kill their children up until the moment of birth. Last night, for example, one friend must not have been able to sleep worrying about my pro-life stance, so she sent me some pro-abortion propaganda at 4:15 am.

I also agree that should Trump be allowed to take office (I won't say "win," since he could win and still be blocked from office), the Democrats and their allied groups, including the media, will stir up a repulsive hysteria, making governance impossible. Unlike William, however, I do think Harris will take us over the cliff--the Democrats have removed all the guardrails.; 9/23/24, 1:46 PM
FWBuff said...: I'm old enough to remember toward the end of each presidential election season when the Professor would blog about her choice, usually in the form of "How So-and-So Lost Me." I specifically recall the posts about John Kerry and John McCain. There may have been others, but they were always well-reasoned. I'm hopeful she will post something similar about Kamala Harris soon.; 9/23/24, 1:48 PM
Original Mike said...: Free speech is on the ballot.; 9/23/24, 1:56 PM
Jersey Fled said...: And unlike Harris herself; 9/23/24, 2:06 PM
Greg The Class Traitor said...: So 82% of voters in the poll say you "should" vote for Trump.

What does it say about the Left that simply being a moderate willing to look at both sides drives them away?

I say one of the best argument for voting for Trump is that the Left simply can't be trusted with power. And the fact that they can't stand getting outside their bubble is proof of the fact they can't be trusted with power; 9/23/24, 2:41 PM
Greg The Class Traitor said...: So 82% should vote for Trump, 14% should vote for no one, & the rest should vote for Harris.

What does it say about the mentality of the Left that there are essentially no non-Troll Harris supporters willing to read the blog of a left of center former law professor who subscribers to the New York Times, but is willing to think for herself and get outside the bubble.

The didn't have to read the comments in order to see the poll.

The epistemic closure of the Left makes them unworthy of power; 9/23/24, 2:46 PM
who-knew said...: I went with would vote Trump and should vote Trump, mostly because as a retired con law professor I don't think she can vote for the party that is now clearly and forcefully behind censorship and packing the Supreme Court. Not to mention Jamie Raskin saying publically that the democratic congress would refuse to certify Trump should he win (on clearly specious grounds of 'insurrection'); 9/23/24, 2:54 PM
Freder Frederson said...: Other than her tepid support of abortion rights (basically, her position is abortion should be legal but it's icky so we shouldn't talk about it) what makes her left of center? She supported George Bush's war and was silent when his torture program was revealed. We have no idea what her economic views are.; 9/23/24, 2:55 PM
Kakistocracy said...: Key Nebraska Republican comes out against Electoral College rule change ~ The Hill

Makes sense to me. If it is too late for a second Harris-Trump debate, it’s too late to change election rules.; 9/23/24, 3:24 PM
phantommut said...: This is a sincere question: If it turns out Kamala does have a substance abuse problem (and I swear she often appears, shall we say, fortified) would that be a sure Trump vote from Althouse?; 9/23/24, 3:28 PM
Wa St Blogger said...: I think Althouse should vote for Trump because a vote for him will not have any significant impact on the strength of the Republican part, it will not have a significant impact on the log term goals of her progressive Democrat views, but it might get the attention of the current Democrat party if enough people stand up to reject their destructive-to-the-America tactics that they will abandon those methods and focus on good candidates with attractive policies.

However, I feel that unless they are slapped down very hard, they will just blame fake news and double down next time.; 9/23/24, 3:45 PM
Political Junkie said...: I voted for "will vote for no one, should vote for no one". That is just based on my understanding of the hostess and her prior shared voting behavior.; 9/23/24, 3:56 PM
Iman said...: just eat teh cat, Fredo. Stop screwing the pooch and just eat teh cat.; 9/23/24, 3:57 PM
Political Junkie said...: I care, you god damn troll.; 9/23/24, 3:59 PM
MadisonMan said...: You do.; 9/23/24, 4:01 PM
Iman said...: Goddammit! Man up, you two! Time to do what’s right for the country and vote for the rational alternative to the fuckwit Harris!; 9/23/24, 4:01 PM
Freder Frederson said...: Packing the Supreme Court?! No Republican can make this ridiculous assertion considering the shit McConnel pulled before and during the Trump administration (refused to bring a Obama nominee to the floor and rushed one through at the end Trump's term). Trump should have had one nominee, not three.; 9/23/24, 4:08 PM
Steven said...: Iman, who said anything about not voting for Trump? But I do not believe he will be allowed to take office. Either he will be assassinated before the election, the election will be stolen (as it was in 2020), or the Democrats and Rinos in Congress will unite to vote that he is an insurrectionist and ineligible for office under the 14th amendment (the Supreme Court seems to have opened the door to this solution). At that point, they will probably vote to install Hillary, casting aside the nitwit Harris on the grounds that she had, after all, lost the election. Quite frankly, I think the republic is already dead, and Trump's reelection is the only immediate hope of its restoration. But the Democrats and the Uniparty will not accept defeat easily. If Trump actually takes office, the chaos that they will unleash against him will take a terrible toll.; 9/23/24, 4:18 PM
Bill Harshaw said...: I think you should vote. Who for?

If one of your sons got a job offer from the new president, working closely with them,, would you advise them to take it?

In reading the books about the administration, it seems to me that three of the achievements were: the First Step law (I think that's it--the reform of sentencing, etc.), the Solomon Accords, and the development of the Covid vaccine. All three had the fingerprints of Jared Kushner. Is he going to be part of a new Trump administration? Probably not. Indeed, it seems by December 2020 the administration had had record turnover, and was reduced to relying on Rudy Guiliani, Sydney Powell, and others who were able to set up a press event at Four Season Landscaping. To me, that suggests that a second Trump administration will be more of a clown show than the first. At least, based on his record he would have a very hard time finding capable people.

Alternatively, since Trump will be a lame duck beginning Jan 20, 2025 he may choose to play golf instead of managing the party and leading the country.; 9/23/24, 4:19 PM
cathammer said...: That's HorseWOMAN to you, bud! ;-); 9/23/24, 4:41 PM
Robert Cook said...: Because the alternative is Donald Trump. Why in the world would anyone vote for Trump, even if he were the ONLY candidate in the running? In that situation, in a sane world, all the polling places would be as empty as tombs.; 9/23/24, 4:49 PM
Iman said...: He’s gettin’ those good vibes and the excitations: Trump - Vance 2024; 9/23/24, 5:06 PM
Freder Frederson said...: I care, you god damn troll.
Why do you care? Unless Trump or Harris loses by one vote in Wisconsin, one retired law professor's vote is insignificant.; 9/23/24, 5:18 PM
Jim at said...: So I guess the blatant lies about eating cats and dogs will rule out Trump, too.

You don't know they're lies. That's the fucking problem with you (admittedly one of many). All Vance was doing was repeating what some of his constituents have told him/his office.

And Trump repeated that. There's been no definitive proof it's true or false. Just some city manager making a statement. Is he lying, too? You don't know.; 9/23/24, 5:20 PM
Jim at said...: (refused to bring a Obama nominee to the floor and rushed one through at the end Trump's term)

Advise and consent. Maybe you've heard of it.
Nothing in there about making sure we do it to Freder's liking.; 9/23/24, 5:48 PM
Wa St Blogger said...: @Robert Cook

Why in the world would anyone vote for Trump, even if he were the ONLY candidate in the running?

The reasons are stated in at least 1 thread per day on this blog and you have yet to state a coherent case of why he should NOT get the vote (Not based on political stands such as pro abortion, pro illegal immigration, and other issues that are open to differing views.) I want to know why THIS person is should never get any votes separate from your political views.; 9/23/24, 6:24 PM
Wa St Blogger said...: And leave out the obvious lawfare issues that even the very non-Trump hostess of this blog think are pretty much political attacks. Only Team blue thinks they are valid accusations or convictions. Almost no Red and most Independents can see through the farces. you have to convince me (and I am not a Trumplican) that there is a disqualifying attribute. I don't think you could even convince Althouse that he is not worthy of one vote (even if she can't quite get to the point of pulling the lever herself.; 9/23/24, 6:30 PM
Maynard said...: I am guessing that Althouse is struggling with deciding to vote for Trump or a third party.

She is not voting for Kamala-lala-ding-dong.; 9/23/24, 6:46 PM
Political Junkie said...: I agree. Looking back to 2004, W had it in the bag with the Alhouse switch!; 9/23/24, 9:03 PM
mikee said...: None of our votes, or Althouse's vote, matters at all in comparison to the mail-in vote harvesting effort of Democrats, which will win Harris the presidency with perfectly legal but absolutely unauditable votes supposedly from a large number of non-voters.; 9/23/24, 9:14 PM
Readering said...: A vote for Harris or Trump is one vote; 9/23/24, 9:25 PM
Kansas City said...: I like Ann and find her interesting, but will be disappointed if she does not comment on this. The poll is interesting because it does reflect Ann's honesty had driven away liberals and attracted conservatives. I voted should and would vote for Trump, largely because there is almost no chance that Harris would be a capable and effective president or good for the country.; 9/23/24, 11:57 PM
Big Mike said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/24/24, 4:36 AM
Big Mike said...: Cookie shows how to admit he lives in a strange bubble without being cognizant that he lives in any bubble at all; 9/24/24, 4:40 AM
Big Mike said...: Answering the question posed, Althouse should vote for Trump, at least if she cares about people less lucky than her on the economic ladder — as liberals used to pretend to care. So the other six options are off the table. What will she do? Best guess is that she’ll do the same as last time and not vote for either.; 9/24/24, 5:03 AM
Greg The Class Traitor said...: She voted for Obama, twice. She pays to read the NYT and WaPo, both of which are untrustworthy left wing rags. Pretty sure she voted for Hillary.

Let's turn it around, Freder: in what ways is Prof Althouse right of center?

"She supported George Bush's war"? Which war was that? Afghanistan? then one that Obama doubled down on?
Iraq? The one that the majority of Democrats in Congress supported going in?

Do you have something post 2006 where she wasn't a leftist?; 9/24/24, 10:34 AM
Greg The Class Traitor said...: Poor Freder, so stuck in lies.

Pre Bork, the rule was Presidents get their nominees, absent severe deficiencies.

Post Bork, the rule is the Senate can reject / support nominees for partisan reasons.

You all got Kennedy and Souter (and Souter timing his retirement so you got Sotomayor) thanks to your change of the rules.

But because you're an utterly unprincipled lying sack of shit, you now whine about the costs of your rules change: Gorsuch and ACB.
GFY
In EVERY single case the situation has been this: the Dems have violated the rules when they got in the Dems way, and then the Dems whine like babies when the GOP follows the Dem's new rules.
Everything the GOP did WRT judicial nominations 2009 - 2020 was consistent with the rules that the Dems had already established.

Court packing would be a new rules violation; 9/24/24, 10:40 AM
Kirk Parker said...: "Why in the world should anyone vote for Kamala?"

Easy -- she represents the Infanticide Party. If that sort of barbarity is your thing, she's really your only choice.; 9/24/24, 10:45 AM