October 31, 2024

"This is pre-postmortem. They know it's lost."

I say from across the room, as Meade plays today's episode of the NYT Daily, "Black Voters and the Democratic Party: One Family’s Story."
In our reporting, we called dozens of black men across Georgia and heard story after story like this of people who are frustrated with their prospects right now, especially their place in the economy....

You can listen to the whole thing. I'll just say this is what prompted my remark, from a man talking about how his mother would be disappointed to know he hesitated to vote for Harris:

"I'm someone who has been raised with understanding the importance of voting, with understanding how many people sacrifice for us to have this right. To participate in the process. And so to give that vote away, to use that vote in a way that could possibly hurt a candidate like Kamala Harris, you know, it, it kind of goes against what my people have decided. Majority of my people have decided that this is, you know, what we're doing. And for me to vote against Harris would be a little bit of a betrayal."

I've only used the word "pre-postmortem" once before on this blog, but I've been thinking it a lot in the last couple weeks. The prior usage was on October 14th, in a post titled "When Joe Biden called Kamala Harris on the morning of Sunday, July 21st, she was... wearing sweatpants and a hoodie..."

I chose this article to blog first this morning, but it was one of the many headlines I saw that made me want to create a new tag, something like "pre-postmortem."

44 comments:

Dave Begley said...

My people? My people have decided? Is this guy an American? Whatever happened to individual choice and freedom?

rehajm said...

Yah Dave, to my sorry white ass it sounds like such a loss of autonomy, a crude sacrifice of the individual for some amorphous collective. Some of us used to dare to claim that kind of deference is a factor in a lack of economic and personal achievement…

Another old lawyer said...

But remember - his use of "my people" does NOT allow you to utter the racist phrase "you people."

rehajm said...

Yesterday Fox news told me Kamala’s people believe they’re reaching more suburban white ladies than last time when they garnered
nearly all of them. Now that they’ve found some more they claim they more than make up for the loss in black support, so Fox claims they claim…

Jonathan Burack said...

"My people" came here from Russia awhile back, to get away from being slaughtered, etc. I've been voting for all my life (a while, that is). I do not recall every wondering what my mother (or father) would have thought about it. I guess that shows what an uncaring, ungrateful guy I am. Maybe even a "garbage" kind of guy. Oh well, no one's perfect.

mezzrow said...

More than half a million people in Georgia who didn’t vote in the presidential election four years ago cast a ballot this month during early voting, according to an analysis by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and GeorgiaVotes.com.
https://www.ajc.com/politics/early-voters-georgia-2024-over-half-million-of-early-voters-this-year-didnt-vote-in-2020/3GEPA56CEZDXTI5J7CYHNS7GAU/

rehajm said...

I however do not feel pre-postmortem vibes, mostly because I’m a piece of the garbage that refused to move on and think the level of trust is lower than the snakes’ bellies. An equally plausible explanation to me is they are choosing to abandon campaigning to line up the steal and accompanying lawfare. It wasn’t that Kamala was too busy for Rogan, the people running her are ATM…

Shouting Thomas said...

What happens to Trump if they pull off the cheat? What happens to Trump voters? Democrats seem content to turn over the government to the invisible hand of the Intel services, so long as the DEI quota system and the green energy kickback scams continue.

Michael said...

In the past two weeks a friend has continually sent me links to news and opinion pieces that fit Ann's pre-postmortum frame. Black men, Teamsters, the Federal Reserve, Rpgan, etc....all planting the seeds that somehow these people have failed Kamala. Get ready for an avalanche of stories that will figuratively line them up against the wall to be shot for destroying democracy.

Shouting Thomas said...

It makes sense if you believe that DEI supersedes all, including merit. Continuing the quota system is paramount.

rehajm said...

The list is so long. It’s like they’re losing the ability to keep people in line or something…

RMc said...

They really have no shame at all, do they?

Ralph L said...

I watched all of Trump's WI speech (at 1.5x) that Althouse posted last night. I've only watched clips of speeches before, though I did the whole Rogan. Trump put the shoutouts to other people at the end. Clinton did it at the beginning.

Quayle said...

Müll und Abfall über alles!

Political Junkie said...

If black turnout drops, or a tiny portion is more R, then the only D hope is running up the female vote.

Mr. Forward said...

If sheep could vote.

Political Junkie said...

In 2002 elections, with Bin Laden the "bad guy" in everyone's minds, the D's had a hard time mobilizing the black vote.That is why the D's had a bad result that year even though it was a mid term election, which usually goes against the sitting president's poarty.

Temujin said...

I see the same sort of 'captured' mentality from the Jewish community. Some (but not all) of my family and friends scattered around the US. Of course, those in the Northeast are the most captured. Those of us who grew up in the Midwest, interestingly, are more prone to independent thinking.
But this idea that my folks voted this way, and their folks voted this way, so despite what my own eyes and ears are telling me, I'm going to keep voting this way, seems insane. Really- the very definition of insanity: doing the same thing and expecting different results.

If you did not see the results you like from Kamala as Veep, just what makes you think things will be different if she's the Big Cheese? She'll be worse. Unleashed, not more insightful, careful, considerate.

And so, so many Black and Jewish Americans are mentally locked into 'the way we've always voted', accepting bizarre claims from the media who are busy playing them, per the Democratic Party instructions.

It's sad to watch. I do believe the ether is slowly wearing off. But it's only a little bit each election. At this rate I'll be long gone before either demographic group actually votes as independent people, thinking for themselves, not as a collective.

tim maguire said...

“The people before us fought hard for our right to participate and we owe it to them to waste that effort, to squander our votes by using them to push candidates who are sort of our color instead of candidates who will protect our interests and make our lives better.”

rehajm said...

…and bigot if you dare offer the exact same explanation he does…

R C Belaire said...

But don't discount the cheating aspect. Completed ballots are waiting in their boxes!

Amadeus 48 said...

Consider pre-bunking, defined as "to preemptively debunk a line of disinformation by publishing an account of that disinformation along with a simultaneous refutation before the disinformation itself is actually disseminated by its author." But what if the "disinformation" is true? Then we have a propaganda operation. What if the Hunter Biden laptop has been in the hands of the FBI for months before October 2020, had been verified as real by them, and is later used as evidence in Hunter's tax case? But 51 intelligence "experts" put out a letter supporting the idea that the laptop was Russian disinformation. In fact, that letter was CIA disinformation.
I have mixed feelings about Trump, but there is no doubt that we need to elect him to clean out the garbage (heh) in DC.

Leland said...

The betrayal would be to have fought for the right to vote only to then be taken for granted and used for others advantage. Using the right to vote to choose your own destiny is what others fought to give you.

Dixcus said...

Blacks don't have a place in our economy. Mexicans took their place.

Blacks are meant to be on the dole. Not working. To destroy their spirit. As Democrats have been doing since the last Civil War and will continue to do until the next Civil War.

Dixcus said...

They have 3 days AFTER the election in Arizona to print up however many ballots they need to win, and don't even have to mail them (postmarks provide evidence, after all).

The elections are FAKE. Stop participating in fake elections.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

I'm not so sure there's a watertight seal in between a guilty conscience and fear of retribution.

Quayle said...

DIXCUS, You seem pretty intent on sewing discord and negativism. How is the weather in Moscow today?

narciso said...

They dont want working class blacks or whites they want a lumpen class because the mlddle class is a buttress against tyranny

rehajm said...

heh

donald said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dave Begley said...

I dated a very smart and successful woman about two years ago. Her issue is abortion. That’s it. Thankfully she lives in FL.

Duke Dan said...

They fought for your right to vote, not be a rubber stamp. By voting based on your own actual thoughts and ideas is finally making that effort worthwhile.

Shouting Thomas said...

@Dave Begley. A “smart and successful woman” can’t figure out how to manage birth control?

Christopher B said...

or "all lives matter"

Democratic Paychecks for Perks/ Dems for Demolition of Democracy/ fake-cares 4-U said...

The corrupt left chose illegals over blacks. The corrupt left chose illegals and crime over all of us.

Leland said...

In previous elections, I’d often see the Obama, Hillary or Biden/Harris bumper sticker on various cars in Houston. You can see from her recent rally, there are plenty of Democrats in Harris County. But this time, I’ve seen only one Harris/Walz bumper sticker. I don’t even know if there was a Biden/Harris 2024 sticker.
What I expected long ago, no matter what the polls showed, there can really be a 50/50 split among the electorate, but the polls don’t show the enthusiasm on the left to get out and vote for Harris.

Democratic Paychecks for Perks/ Dems for Demolition of Democracy/ fake-cares 4-U said...

The corrupt leftist mob and their $$$$ Maddow media = is the enemy within. Suck it - speech crime leftists.

planetgeo said...

Looks like black people haven't yet noticed that the candidates "my people" have always voted for and which they feel compelled to continue voting for have been purposely importing millions of "other people" to replace "my people" in jobs and in lines for the whole government gravy train. Not to mention loot, plunder, and burn down their neighborhoods. Wonder when they'll finally notice.

Former Illinois resident said...

chicago Trib has article after article, editorial after editorial, letter to editor after letter to editor, all exhorting voters to "Vote Blue" because because because:

1) It's your divine duty;

2) The economy is actually great, even if it doesn't feel that way;

3) Trump is a XXXXXX, take your pick.

No one attempts to demonstrate genuine competency of either Harris or Walz. And why has Gwen been sidelined and silenced? Hmm.

Inga said...

Quayle…

I’ve thought the same thing since he started commenting here.

Elliott A. said...

Maybe it is about time to remind people that the Civil Rights Act and the Voting rights Act were Republican backed legislation that a high percentage of democrats voted against. For the women, the suffragette movement led by Susan B. Anthony was spearheaded by women who were republicans, There is a statue in Central Park commemorating them

gspencer said...

"And so to give that vote away, to use that vote in a way that could possibly hurt a candidate like Kamala Harris, you know, it, it kind of goes against what my people have decided."

Charles Murray has been SOOOOOO on the money.

Birches said...

Speaking of people from Georgia, does anyone know why all the bussed in people from her rallies are from Georgia? I've just seen the GPS data.

Balfegor said...

Not over until it's over. It looks very good for Trump, but I remember it looked even better for Clinton in 2016. Kaine was gloating about how they were going to remake the Supreme Court. Liberals were gloating about how conservatism was dead. Republican politicians were settling in for a comfortable 4 years in opposition. The betting markets were spiking in Clinton's favour.

And then Trump won.

I suspect polls are underestimating Trump's support, just as in 2016 and 2020, not because of "shy" Trump voters, but because of mistrustful Trump voters. But the polls arrive at their numbers through a series of assumptions fed into a turnout model, so the polls really could be overestimating Trump this time. There's no transparency, as far as I can tell, about what goes into those models, so we can't say how the model and the assumptions have changed from 2016 and 2020.