It is an interesting point, but I dunno whether he's right. Politics is all about personality these days and Trump and Boris won on personality, so it makes sense to try to take that away from them. That being said, you can also look at it as being impossible to compete with them on that front and therefore essential you find some other line of attack.
Keir Starmer
That, or Trump lost on personality.
Leo
Well-known member
I think Biden had the personality that was appropriate for the time: normal, sane, experienced, even-keel. the anti-trump, after 4+ years of chaos.
whether Biden really is any of those things is a different story, but it was the personality that came across last year.
Leo
Well-known member
but I don't think other democratic candidates (like, say, Elizabeth Warren) would have gotten as many votes of Biden.
IdleRich
IdleRich
I dunno. I often think that hatred can be a stronger force than love and Trump was someone who by both his actions and his nature and personality (these don't always come together of course which is rather unfortunate. It's common to have those amongst your friends who are worthy and nice and all that but who might be a bit boring, and, as a rule, I reckon most of us (well me anyhow) would tend to gravitate to spending more time with other friends who are more charming and fun to hang around with even if overall we know that they are probably a bit of a cunt) and as a result of that combined with everything he did being amplified by his being on telly all the time, I reckon he was someone who generated an awful lot of hatred (the moronic referred to it as Trump Derangement Syndrome of course, as though it's somehow illogical to be annoyed by a stupid fat lying criminal who ended up ruling the country and then tried to destroy it) and I can imagine that it got a lot of people off their holes and into the booth when the time came,..
subvert47
I don't fight, I run away
Biden won for all sorts of reasons. For not being too threatening and, especially, not being Trump, sure. But he also had ideas of what he wanted to do and proposed to do. And he took the Democratic left and Black caucuses with him, who were both very instrumental in getting the vote out in key states.
If comparisons are to be made, I'd say Biden was Blair. Whereas:
Starmer is not Johnson. But he's only not threatening to the status quo. He shits on the Labour left, doesn't really give a fuck about racism, disbanded grassroots organizing, has no ideas whatsoever, nor it seems any integrity. Johnson's blatant lying comes across as more honest than Starmer's bland weathervane pronouncements.
Rubbish at politics is an understatement.
luka
Well-known member
good lads
The Labour Left deserve it. 80 seats, EHRC investigation, let's not forget. I mean, I agree that he's not doing well but I think the constant negative focus on Starmer is in part a rhetorical move to switch attention from how badly they did. Hating is easier as well. I know, 'cos I did plenty of it previously so I guess it's my turn to suffer it.
It's not even an absence of ideas - there's been loads of policy - but it's wrapping it up in a cohesive narrative and personality and giving it wide appeal.
Dominic Cumming is the ultimate backseat driver but he does have an interesting perspective. Some more in this thread:
subvert47
I don't fight, I run away
Yes, the last election was all the Left's fault. Yes, it's now all about the Left hating Starmer on Twitter. Not at all about how complete shit he's been. Typical centrist revisionist deflection twaddle.