Oct. 31, 2024 "Some voters aren't crazy about Trump. But they're supporting him anyway": Today I found this article by Rhianna Schmunk on CBC:
The side of the Carney family fridge is covered in the collage you'd expect in a home with two adults, six children, one husky and one black Labrador: school photos, sports schedules, a phone number for the vet and a magnet honouring the household super mom.
The front lawn, on the other hand, has an unusual combination for a Michigan suburb with deep blue-collar roots: one sign declaring a "proud union home" and another backing "Trump Vance 2024."
After voting Democratic in the last two U.S. elections, the Carneys have flipped to supporting Republican nominee Donald Trump this year
— not necessarily because they like Trump, the person,
but because they're struggling with the cost of living.
"Everything's going sky-high.... It makes me realize how much Trump did for us when he was here, compared to when Biden came in," said Lindsy Carney, 36, a stay-at-home mom married to a tile worker in Warren, Mich., a small city just north of Detroit.
"But, like, some of the stuff he views and he says, I'm like … eh," she added, trailing off and wrinkling her nose.
The affordability factor
Americans who vote for Trump are often portrayed as deeply loyal supporters whose feelings won't be swayed by impeachments, indictments, a felony conviction or just about anything he says or does.
However, there are voters in U.S. like Carney, who don't necessarily like him, but say they'll be voting for him anyway because
they believe he's stronger on the economy
and believe he'll make changes that will directly affect their lives.
"There are maybe three groups of voters out there," said Dave Dulio, distinguished professor of political science at Michigan's Oakland University.
"One group, they've made up their mind about Trump — they hate him and that's it.
There's another group that is willing to look past his character issues or past statements … and they're voting for him no matter what.
"And then there's that other group that doesn't like him, but is going to hold their nose and vote for him."
Throughout the campaign, the Republican Party has painted President Joe Biden as responsible for the high price of goods.
Inflation soared around the world in 2021 and 2022 as economies around the world bounced back from a pandemic recession.
Some analysts warned the Biden administration's pandemic-relief spending in 2021 might have contributed, but it was just one of several nuanced factors.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office cited four key players:
the pandemic's supply-chain disruptions,
low unemployment,
fiscal policy
and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Inflation in the United States has since cooled, but the price of food, rent and utilities continues to be a sticking point for voters.
For people like Carney, the complex reasons why prices soared after the pandemic aren't important.
She believes Trump will do a better job at improving her family's economic situation because inflation,
she reasons, was lower when he was in office between 2016 and 2020 — a common rationale among voters who spoke with CBC News.
"It's groceries. It's gas. It's just every cost of living right now," said Carney, adding salt to a pot of boiling water on the stove. "We're always behind a bill somehow."
Voters in the seven battleground states that will determine the winner of the election on Nov. 5 have a negative view of the economy, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll done this month.
More than 60 per cent said the economy is on the wrong track and 68 per cent say the same for the cost of living.
CBC News spoke with more than a dozen voters in four different Michigan communities about the issues most important to them this election. Every one said the cost of living was a concern — ranging from an inconvenience to a crisis.
Several spoke on background, but asked not to be named or photographed with their faces showing because they were concerned about what Democratic neighbours, loved ones and colleagues might think of their vote for Trump.
Promised solutions from presidential hopefuls
About 50 kilometres west of Detroit lies the township of Canton, another suburb. As property manager Jim Alcorn tucked into a leafy Michigan salad at a Leo's Coney Island restaurant, he noted that he, too, believes life was more affordable under Trump.
"I'm voting for Trump because I like his policies and I think he's a good businessman," said Alcorn, 69.
"Trump, the person," he continued, taking a long wincing pause.
"He's OK.
I don't like a lot of things he does.
And I don't like … he talks about people in a personal sense.
I don't like all that stuff.
It should be kept to politics."
Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Trump have promised different solutions to the economy.
Harris has said she'll fight price gouging
and increase a child tax credit,
while Trump has proposed cutting taxes on overtime pay,
imposing blanket tariffs on imports that he says will bring manufacturing back to the U.S.,
and mass deportation of immigrants.
Harris's price-gouging ban is untested on a federal level,
and economists say Trump's proposed tariffs and deportation threats will drive up prices for goods and services.
Some voters said they didn't need specifics because they think Trump is business-savvy.
"I think I'm going to vote for Trump, honestly, because the economy was better, the country was safer when he was our president," said Andrew Youkhana, 25, whose family owns several local Tim Hortons locations in Michigan.
"I know he's not a perfect person. Some things he says are not — a lot of people don't like what he says, but at least he's a businessman," he said.
"And I really feel like he is going to put American people first compared to the other side."
Sherry Tubbs, 55, said she never used to vote regularly because she didn't care for the political circus — "I went to work, paid my taxes and didn't complain" — but will be supporting Trump this year because she's fed up with the high cost of living.
"I'm not happy with it. Nobody's happy with it. I have to decide: Get your car fixed this week or buy food," said Tubbs, ashing her cigarette outside the home that she and her son could only afford by buying it together.
"I was happy [when Trump was president]. I want that back."
The antagonistic U.S. election has seen the candidates campaign on pressing issues like
foreign policy
and the sanctity of American democracy.
Those are important to voters, Dulio said, but financial trouble is particularly motivating.
"Those daily-experience issues of going to the grocery store, going to the gas pump, trying to make ends meet — I think that that has major impact on people," said Dulio.
"Even some folks who have soft support for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz may find themselves saying to themselves, 'Hey, look, I don't necessarily want to support Donald Trump, but the economy's not great right now and it was better when he was president.'"
Such voter behaviour could repeat itself in the Canadian federal election, with people voting for the party of a candidate they might not like personally because they're unhappy with affordability under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Food on the table over good character
Laura Stephenson, a political science professor at Western University in London, Ont., said voters who can't afford to put food on the table will care less about a candidate's character if they believe they're going to help.
"A lot of what you care about is not whether you get to hang out with them and shake their hand ... but instead whether or not they're going to enact policies that actually benefit you," she said.
For years, Michigan's unemployment rate has been consistently higher than the overall U.S. number. Last year, the state hit its highest job level and lowest unemployment in two decades.
Polls suggest Harris has a slim lead over Trump nationwide, but battleground states are still anybody's game.
For the Carneys, their swing vote was motivated by one singular issue.
"We are always kind of liberal, [but] we kind of just see who's there," said Carney, leaning back against her grey countertops. "This year, our views just happened to go Republican."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-voters-michigan-harris-presidential-election-1.7367116
Nov. 6, 2024 "Why Kamala Harris lost: A flawed candidate or doomed campaign?": Today I found this article by Courtney Subramanian on BBC News:
Nearly a month ago, Kamala Harris appeared on ABC's The View in what was expected to be a
friendly interview aimed at pitching herself to Americans who wanted to know more about her.
But the sit-down was quickly overshadowed by her response to a question on what she would have
done differently from incumbent president, Joe Biden: "Not a thing comes to mind."
Harris's answer - which became a Republican attack ad on loop - underscored the political
headwinds that her jumpstart campaign failed to overcome in her decisive loss to Donald Trump
on Tuesday.
Publicly, she conceded the race late on Wednesday afternoon, telling supporters "do not despair".
But soul-searching over where she went wrong and what else she could have done will likely take
longer as Democrats begin finger-pointing and raising questions about the future of the party.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjr4l5j2v9do
Nov. 6, 2024 My opinion: I was mildly disappointed that Trump won and will be the American president again.
All the people who voted for him, I hope Trump is able to help them and lower the cost of living.
I hope to see Kamala Harris run again to be a president.
I woke up in the middle of the night to use the washroom. I was tempted to check to see who won, but I didn't.
If Trump won, I would be angry and in a bad mood, and I wouldn't be able to go to sleep.
If Harris won, I would be happy, and I wouldn't be able to go to sleep.
I'll wait until the morning until all the votes are counted.
I did my part by posting all the negative articles about Trump, and all the positive articles about Harris:
Aug. 2024:
"Nashville quiet on the Trump conundrum"/ "Singers say they’re putting country above politics"
https://badcb.blogspot.com/2024/08/nashville-quiet-on-trump-conundrum.html
"Lana Condor Slams President Trump for Calling Coronavirus 'the Chinese Virus': 'How Dare You'"/ "Trump banned from Facebook’s networks for at least two years"
"A donor who gave $2.5 million to a pro-Trump group looking for election fraud wants his money back after disappointing results"/ "Trump Plaza renamed 'The Plaza' as condo owners pivot to original name of West Palm Beach complex"
https://badcb.blogspot.com/2024/08/a-donor-who-gave-25-million-to-pro.html
Sept. 2024:
"Harris Could Become First U.S. President to Have Worked at McDonald’s"/ "Harris Economic Proposals Envision Tax Cuts and Subsidies"
"Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi: How America's most powerful women look to make history again"/ "Texas man pays $4,000 for ‘autographed’ Taylor Swift guitar at auction then smashes it to pieces with hammer"
"Obama tells men to drop ‘excuses’ and support Kamala Harris over Trump"/ "Michelle Obama Finally Takes the Mound Against Donald Trump"
"Trump refers to CNN's Anderson Cooper by a woman's first name"/ "Scotiabank Economist Says Trump Win Would Bring ‘Ruinous’ Policy"
"'We must mobilize': Harris rallies with Beyoncé and Willie Nelson in Texas"/ "Sally Field Details Her ‘Traumatic’ and ‘Hideous’ Illegal Abortion From 1964 to Urge Voters to Elect Kamala Harris: ‘We Can’t Go Back’"
Nov. 8, 2024 Leo opinion:
Christine W, Redbridge, Ontario, would like to know:
How do you feel about the outcome of the 2024 United States presidential election?
Displeased 66. 82% (3266)
Neutral 20.79% (1016)
Pleased 12. 40% (606)
My opinion: I was displeased.
"The Great Resignation isn't over yet: Workers say they'll quit if they don't get the flexibility they want"/ "Many bosses are spending almost half their day dealing with staff turnover, survey says"
"You've heard of quiet quitting. Here's how to tell if you're being quietly fired"/ "The quiet quitters are getting quiet fired: The silent war playing out in offices"
Nov. 4, 2024 🚃"'I married the train driver who saved my life'": Today I found this article by Corne Van Hoepen on Yahoo:
Warning: This article contains references to suicide and mental health issues.
On a summer afternoon in 2019, nurse Charlotte Lay got ready for her night shift as normal but "wasn't feeling quite right."
Within a short space of time she had decided to end her own life close to a railway station located in the U.K.
But thanks to the kindness of the train driver who found her in crisis, she did not go through with it.
Three years later they married each other and went on to have children.
"I'd struggled with my mental health since my teens and I'd been in and out of the system since," Charlotte, now 33, says in an interview with BBC News.
Her memories of that day five years ago are "quite blurry" but she says she remembers seeing a train pulling up on the tracks where she was, close to Crossflatts Station, near Bradford.
"I remember seeing a man getting off the train and starting to panic and thinking he was going to tell me off," she recalls.
"He approached me and said 'hi, my name is Dave, are you having a bad day?'
"I said ‘yeah, just a bit’. He went ‘OK’, we can sit and talk until it feels better."
The pair talked for half an hour, by which time Charlotte, though still distressed, agreed to get into the cab. She was taken to Skipton Station and left in the care of the police.
The following day, Charlotte was desperate to find the man who had been so kind to her and issued an appeal on a local Facebook group for anyone who worked for Northern who might be able to put her in touch.
"I’d have understood if he didn’t want to hear from me, but I just wanted to say ‘thank you’ for giving me the time and for treating me like I was human being," she says.
Her plea was successful and after Charlotte was given Dave's number by one of his colleagues who had seen the appeal, she sent him a text.
After Dave returned Charlotte's text telling her he was available whenever she needed to speak to someone, they began exchanging messages on a daily basis.
They then met for a coffee two months later and the rest was history.
In 2022, the couple, who live in nearby Wilsden, got married, with Charlotte 22 weeks pregnant.
'Life gets better'
The couple say they wanted to share their story in the hope that anyone who is struggling can know better times are around the corner.
"Life does get better," Charlotte, who is now a mum of three, says. "You just have to be here to see it."
Charlotte says that it is often too difficult for people who are struggling to "reach out" and ask for help, so suggests people around them "reach in" instead. She continues to receive ongoing support for her mental health.
She believes asking someone if they are OK more than once can help them open up.
"We owe it to each other to be checking in with people around us," she says.
