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Eighty odd days until we vote!
Aug. 15th, 2024 09:50 pmIf you're in the USA, please check your registration and make sure that you're correctly registered to vote. It's important.
In a related note, I drove from my home in Breezewood PA to Gettsyburg PA via US Route 30 on Monday. This is relevant because it's basically a snapshot of what "Rural Pennsylvania" is doing.
Philly and Pittsburgh (and their collar counties) vote reliably Democratic. However, damn near the entire rest of the state --and there is a lot of it-- still contains enough votes to tip the state red in some races, including the presidential election. I'm trying to get a read on where Pennsylvania's Vast Tracts of Electoral Votes might wind up in November.
In 2016 and in 2020, there were many Trump signs in my area. Lots of bumper stickers, flags, etc. Fwiw, there are still a lot of faded, tattered Trump 2020 flags. But there aren't a lot of *new* Trump signs or flags. People aren't going out and getting new Trump swag, at least not yet.
This could be because everyone is on a tight budget these days? The inflation thing has moderated a little but folks are still feeling squeezed from that because wages always lag inflation. Maybe they want new Trump swag but they just don't have money to spend on Trump swag.
This could be because they still have their faded, tattered Trump 2020 flags and signs. They don't need new swag because they still have Make America Great Again swag that works fine. (Most of it just says Trump anyway, no running mate is mentioned. It's kinda... cult of personality swag.) And so they aren't buying new swag because they already have swag.
Or this could be that folks are quietly not-so-thrilled about Trump, at least to the point where they don't want to give him money or buy his retread swag. They might not take down their old swag, but they also won't buy new and they might be uniniterested enough to just stay home in November.
I do not know what is causing the lack o' new Trump swag. But on my drive from Breezewood to Gettysburg on US Route 30 on Monday, I saw exactly 2 "Trump 2024" yard signs. I've seen one in Bedford, as well. But... that's not very many signs.
It's still early days, obviously, but I feel like there should be more signs. I feel like in previous election years, there WERE more signs.
Anyone else living in red areas on the map? What's your read on the Trump swag situation?
In a related note, I drove from my home in Breezewood PA to Gettsyburg PA via US Route 30 on Monday. This is relevant because it's basically a snapshot of what "Rural Pennsylvania" is doing.
Philly and Pittsburgh (and their collar counties) vote reliably Democratic. However, damn near the entire rest of the state --and there is a lot of it-- still contains enough votes to tip the state red in some races, including the presidential election. I'm trying to get a read on where Pennsylvania's Vast Tracts of Electoral Votes might wind up in November.
In 2016 and in 2020, there were many Trump signs in my area. Lots of bumper stickers, flags, etc. Fwiw, there are still a lot of faded, tattered Trump 2020 flags. But there aren't a lot of *new* Trump signs or flags. People aren't going out and getting new Trump swag, at least not yet.
This could be because everyone is on a tight budget these days? The inflation thing has moderated a little but folks are still feeling squeezed from that because wages always lag inflation. Maybe they want new Trump swag but they just don't have money to spend on Trump swag.
This could be because they still have their faded, tattered Trump 2020 flags and signs. They don't need new swag because they still have Make America Great Again swag that works fine. (Most of it just says Trump anyway, no running mate is mentioned. It's kinda... cult of personality swag.) And so they aren't buying new swag because they already have swag.
Or this could be that folks are quietly not-so-thrilled about Trump, at least to the point where they don't want to give him money or buy his retread swag. They might not take down their old swag, but they also won't buy new and they might be uniniterested enough to just stay home in November.
I do not know what is causing the lack o' new Trump swag. But on my drive from Breezewood to Gettysburg on US Route 30 on Monday, I saw exactly 2 "Trump 2024" yard signs. I've seen one in Bedford, as well. But... that's not very many signs.
It's still early days, obviously, but I feel like there should be more signs. I feel like in previous election years, there WERE more signs.
Anyone else living in red areas on the map? What's your read on the Trump swag situation?
