US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

N&P: Discuss governments, nations, politics and recent related news here.

Moderators: Alyrium Denryle, Edi, K. A. Pital

Post Reply
User avatar
Tribble
Sith Devotee
Posts: 3112
Joined: 2008-11-18 11:28am
Location: stardestroyer.net

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Tribble »

Ralin wrote: 2024-09-08 01:06am
Tsyroc wrote: 2024-09-08 12:21am

I guess it could be good if someone would put up a good candidate in opposition to him. It should be an easy thing but both parties always cater to the extreme elements of their base when they'd have an easy win if they went more middle of the road.
...Please, tell me about these extreme non-middle of the road candidates the Democrats always cater to.
Well, Democrats support things like abortions, homosexuals, women, Medicare, education, non-whites, non-Christians, combatting pollution and climate change, taxing corporations and wealthy at higher rates, etc. Not to mention the concept of a “Democratic” form of government.

They’re all a bunch of socialist extremists as far as Republicans are concerned, which is why they want their Orange Hitler to put them in their place!
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!" - The official Troll motto, as stated by Adam Savage
User avatar
Solauren
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 10333
Joined: 2003-05-11 09:41pm

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Solauren »

bilateralrope wrote: 2024-09-07 02:09pm Trump's secret service protection is going to complicate sticking him into a prison. So it seems more likely that any prison sentence will be served with him locked up at a military base.
Solitary Confinement, High Security prison. He's the only one in that wing, and the guards are all secret service, seperate entrance, etc.
I've been asked why I still follow a few of the people I know on Facebook with 'interesting political habits and view points'.

It's so when they comment on or approve of something, I know what pages to block/what not to vote for.
Ralin
Sith Marauder
Posts: 4509
Joined: 2008-08-28 04:23am

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Ralin »

Just going off word of mouth here but I've heard that US military prisons don't have anything like the gang and violence issues that regular prisons do because the military has decided to aggressively not tolerate that shit. If they want an alternative to solitary confinement/house arrest/country club they could probably do worse than to put him in a cell there and assign two Secret Service agents to being his minders all day.

Or just, you know. Tell the Secret Service to fuck off because the parts of the government that run state prisons don't actually answer to them. What are they going to do? Raid the place?
bilateralrope
Sith Acolyte
Posts: 6109
Joined: 2005-06-25 06:50pm
Location: New Zealand

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by bilateralrope »

Ralin wrote: 2024-09-08 11:56am Or just, you know. Tell the Secret Service to fuck off because the parts of the government that run state prisons don't actually answer to them. What are they going to do? Raid the place?
So we have a conflict between state prisons (do they have a state law backing them here ?) and federal law. That sounds like a case for SCOTUS. With the current justices, that's probably going to be an injunction that frees Trump until they get round to actually hearing the case.

Meaning more time for him to keep spouting bullshit to everyone. When it comes to Trump, I think the most important part of any incarceration is shutting him up.
Solauren wrote: 2024-09-08 11:32am Solitary Confinement, High Security prison. He's the only one in that wing, and the guards are all secret service, seperate entrance, etc.
Lets hear how you justify throwing a non-violent offender into permanent solitary in a high security prison.

Also there is the question of what to do with the prisoners who would otherwise be in that ring.
User avatar
Solauren
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 10333
Joined: 2003-05-11 09:41pm

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Solauren »

bilateralrope wrote: 2024-09-08 05:07pm
Solauren wrote: 2024-09-08 11:32am Solitary Confinement, High Security prison. He's the only one in that wing, and the guards are all secret service, seperate entrance, etc.
Lets hear how you justify throwing a non-violent offender into permanent solitary in a high security prison.

Also there is the question of what to do with the prisoners who would otherwise be in that ring.
Existing prisoners? Shuffle them to other prisons. There have to be a few that could handle that.

And non-violent? I'll admit that.

BUT, he's also be what is probably the most unique prisoner in the history of the United States. In terms of security needed to prevent people trying to kill him for his actions, or trying to free him as a rallying point, I'd put him in the same league as defendants in the Nuremberg trials (Note: I am not calling him a Nazi. He's just as high profile and as big a security concern as they were).

IF he goes to jail, the United States has a legal responsibility to keep him safe. Both as a former POTUS, and as a prisoner. There is absolutely no way to do that, with him being anywhere near Gen-Pop in any prison.

Why?

Being the prisoner that iced Trump, despite prison guards and secret service. What is that worth? In terms of fame/infamy, and the like? What's it worth for your people on the outside? Everyone that can prove they had any long term connection to you could easily get a book deal out of it.

So, you need to keep him completely isolated, for his own safety. That is solitary confinement.

Now, given his age, the negative effects of solitary confinement, and the fact the idiot will probably try to run in 2028 if he's not re-elected this time, I agree traditional solitary confinement is probably not the best choice for his health. Also, he is a former POTUS that was not removed from office by the government.

So, how about this then..
Solitary Confinement in his could would have to be - isolated from all other prisoners. His only interaction with anyone associated with the prison system, is with Secret Service Agents assigned to him.

Maybe in the equal of a reasonably sized one bedroom apartment. Probably one without windows.

He can still have visitors (i.e his family, his lawyer).

But, he has to be in high security to keep people from trying to get him out.


However, after thought, Military Prison would probably be a better choice, unless we can get Alcatraz refurbished to hold him.
I've been asked why I still follow a few of the people I know on Facebook with 'interesting political habits and view points'.

It's so when they comment on or approve of something, I know what pages to block/what not to vote for.
User avatar
Gandalf
SD.net White Wizard
Posts: 16354
Joined: 2002-09-16 11:13pm
Location: A video store in Australia

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Gandalf »

Tribble wrote: 2024-09-08 10:35amWell, Democrats support things like abortions, homosexuals, women, Medicare, education, non-whites, non-Christians, combatting pollution and climate change, taxing corporations and wealthy at higher rates, etc. Not to mention the concept of a “Democratic” form of government.

They’re all a bunch of socialist extremists as far as Republicans are concerned, which is why they want their Orange Hitler to put them in their place!
The Dems have drifted so far to the right, that now they're praising Dick Cheney for saying that he will vote for Harris.

I remember when he was a terrifying villain, but apparently now he's a great American hero.
"Oh no, oh yeah, tell me how can it be so fair
That we dying younger hiding from the police man over there
Just for breathing in the air they wanna leave me in the chair
Electric shocking body rocking beat streeting me to death"

- A.B. Original, Report to the Mist

"I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately."
- George Carlin
Ralin
Sith Marauder
Posts: 4509
Joined: 2008-08-28 04:23am

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Ralin »

bilateralrope wrote: 2024-09-08 05:07pm
So we have a conflict between state prisons (do they have a state law backing them here ?) and federal law.
Backing up that they can incarcerate people sentenced to prison after being convicted of crimes or a state law in any way mentioning the Secret Service and how prisons are supposed to interact with requests from it?
User avatar
EnterpriseSovereign
Sith Marauder
Posts: 4319
Joined: 2006-05-12 12:19pm
Location: Spacedock

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by EnterpriseSovereign »

Punchy Harris rattles Trump in election debate
Philadelphia might be called the city of brotherly love, but after an initial handshake there was little warmth in the presidential debate studio last night.

Almost immediately Kamala Harris and Donald Trump clashed on the economy, and the fiery sparring continued right to the end.

There were so many eye-catching moments that drew gasps from the several hundred journalists watching the debate in the spin room, as Harris attempted to throw rhetorical punches.

Trump ducked and dived as he evaded answers.

Harris used all her prosecutorial skills, honed from her time as California's attorney-general, to set the arguments against Trump and the dangers he poses.

But it was when she suggested supporters at his rallies left early because they were exhausted and bored that Trump lost control.

Strategically, this was a failure for the Republicans, who had hoped Trump would deliver a disciplined forward-facing message.

Instead, on immigration and abortion, Trump made lurid claims, which were immediately shot down by the fact-checking moderators.

From illegal migrants eating pet dogs to full-term babies being executed by abortion clinics, the litany of lies and exaggerations was difficult to keep up with.

This wasn't all good news for the Democrats though.

Harris appeared to have few answers on how she would reduce prices and help middle-class families struggling with inflation.

But on the threat posed by Trump, she was articulate and robust. Her goading of Trump on Ukraine provoked him into saying he would sue for peace with Vladimir Putin even before he was inaugurated, which would be illegal.

He doubled down on both his election denial and his role in the January 6 riot, offering Harris the chance to tell viewers how she was in the Capitol that day, as the violent mob attacked policemen outside.

It was perhaps a sign of his realisation the evening hadn't gone well, that Trump made the highly unusual decision to appear in the spin room himself, attempting to suck the oxygen of publicity away from Democrat surrogates who were arguing he'd lost.

But despite his impromptu press conference and an appearance on the right wing channel Fox News, Trump was facing a tide of opinion suggesting he'd been defeated in the debate.

The final blow came from pop superstar Taylor Swift, whose endorsement of Harris may shift more votes than the 90 minutes of argument between the two candidates.

And yet despite Harris' superiority in the first and possibly only debate with Trump, this remains an election of incredibly fine margins.

Many voters are still undecided and it's unclear whether her night in Philadelphia's National Constitution Centre will translate to victory on November 5.
User avatar
Batman
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 16391
Joined: 2002-07-09 04:51am
Location: Seriously thinking about moving to Marvel because so much of the DCEU stinks

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Batman »

Strategically, this was a failure for the Republicans who had hoped Trump would deliver a disciplined forward-facing message.
Where have those Republicans been living these past few years? The Lesser Magellanic Cloud?

'
'Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me. Real hard.'
'You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues.'
'No. No dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time.'
'Tactically we have multiple objectives. So we need to split into teams.'-'Dibs on the Amazon!'
'Hey, we both have a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.'
'You know, for a guy with like 50 different kinds of vision, you sure are blind.'
User avatar
Steve
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 9774
Joined: 2002-07-03 01:09pm
Location: Florida USA
Contact:

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Steve »

The media has to say things like that to maintain the illusion that the political system isn't completely warped due to National Populism and how Trump's manipulated it.
”A Radical is a man with both feet planted firmly in the air.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism." - Sir Winston L. S. Churchill, Princips Britannia

American Conservatism is about the exercise of personal responsibility without state interference in the lives of the citizenry..... unless, of course, it involves using the bludgeon of state power to suppress things Conservatives do not like.

DONALD J. TRUMP IS A SEDITIOUS TRAITOR AND MUST BE IMPEACHED
User avatar
Gandalf
SD.net White Wizard
Posts: 16354
Joined: 2002-09-16 11:13pm
Location: A video store in Australia

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Gandalf »

Also, the spectacle of a closer race brings more ratings. Donald Trump's wild ride isn't the draw it was in 2016, so they need to rebrand it somewhat.
"Oh no, oh yeah, tell me how can it be so fair
That we dying younger hiding from the police man over there
Just for breathing in the air they wanna leave me in the chair
Electric shocking body rocking beat streeting me to death"

- A.B. Original, Report to the Mist

"I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately."
- George Carlin
User avatar
Rogue 9
Scrapping TIEs since 1997
Posts: 18670
Joined: 2003-11-12 01:10pm
Location: Classified
Contact:

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Rogue 9 »

Gandalf wrote: 2024-09-08 09:29pm
Tribble wrote: 2024-09-08 10:35amWell, Democrats support things like abortions, homosexuals, women, Medicare, education, non-whites, non-Christians, combatting pollution and climate change, taxing corporations and wealthy at higher rates, etc. Not to mention the concept of a “Democratic” form of government.

They’re all a bunch of socialist extremists as far as Republicans are concerned, which is why they want their Orange Hitler to put them in their place!
The Dems have drifted so far to the right, that now they're praising Dick Cheney for saying that he will vote for Harris.

I remember when he was a terrifying villain, but apparently now he's a great American hero.
So, Dick Cheney was a terrifying villain, but remember how the Iraq War was sold: Yes, the WMD nonsense, but also toppling the dictator and spreading Freedom™. The neoconservatives actually believed that, and so are not going to back someone, even someone ostensibly of their own party (Trump's policy positions bear next to no resemblance to the Republican Party of 20 years ago) who wants to terminate the Constitution and rule as a dictator. That he's endorsing Harris purely to keep Trump out of office does not mean the Democrats are drifting right, and they'd be fools to reject support on the grounds of their only credible opposition being a threat to American democracy; it doesn't mean they're going to adopt Cheney's policy positions.
It's Rogue, not Rouge!

HAB | KotL | VRWC/ELC/CDA | TRotR | The Anti-Confederate | Sluggite | Gamer | Blogger | Staff Reporter | Student | Musician
User avatar
Solauren
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 10333
Joined: 2003-05-11 09:41pm

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Solauren »

If anything, it shows how far off the rails Trump is, when hardcore, respected ex-elected Republican officials are going 'this guy is bad for the country, even on our ticket'

In comic book terms, this is just Dr. Doom deciding to help the Avengers because he doesn't want Thanos to kill half of all life.
Or Lex Luthor helping the Justice League in a fight with Darkside.
I've been asked why I still follow a few of the people I know on Facebook with 'interesting political habits and view points'.

It's so when they comment on or approve of something, I know what pages to block/what not to vote for.
User avatar
Rogue 9
Scrapping TIEs since 1997
Posts: 18670
Joined: 2003-11-12 01:10pm
Location: Classified
Contact:

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Rogue 9 »

It occurs to me that in a parliamentary system such an endorsement would mean adopting policy positions, giving Cabinet posts, etc, in exchange for coalition support but the U.S. Presidential system doesn't have that quirk; for better or worse, it's winner take all and the President does not depend upon a legislative coalition for his or her tenure, so this doesn't mean the same thing that it would in a Westminster system democracy.
It's Rogue, not Rouge!

HAB | KotL | VRWC/ELC/CDA | TRotR | The Anti-Confederate | Sluggite | Gamer | Blogger | Staff Reporter | Student | Musician
User avatar
Tsyroc
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 13748
Joined: 2002-07-29 08:35am
Location: Tucson, Arizona

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Tsyroc »

Ralin wrote: 2024-09-08 01:06am ...Please, tell me about these extreme non-middle of the road candidates the Democrats always cater to.
I guess that's a fair point as far as who they put forward for president. They certainly do better than the Republicans at staying towards the middle.
By the pricking of my thumb,
Something wicked this way comes.
Open, locks,
Whoever knocks.
bilateralrope
Sith Acolyte
Posts: 6109
Joined: 2005-06-25 06:50pm
Location: New Zealand

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by bilateralrope »

Porn stars launch campaign against Project 2025 targeting swing states
by Yash Roy - 10/08/24 4:40 PM ET

Concerned with provisions of Project 2025 that could criminalize pornography, a group of porn stars is jumping into the 2024 election, launching “Hands Off My Porn” and purchasing $100,000 in ads in swing states to spread their message.

“We must fight back against this ultra-conservative agenda that is rooted in religious conservatism, fearmongering, and the suppression of women’s rights,” Casey Calvert, one of the porn stars involved with the effort, wrote alongside the announcement of the ads.

Twenty porn stars came together to found Hands Off My Porn, and they are placing the ads on sites that show explicit content in Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Michigan, warning users about Project 2025’s drive to criminalize porn.

The ads will direct people to the Hands Off My Porn website, where they can watch testimonials about Project 2025’s dangers.

“This ‘180-day playbook’ for the next Trump Administration puts the anti-porn agenda front and center – on page 5 of this nearly 1000-page document that’s endorsed by The Heritage Foundation, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the Koch Brothers, and hundreds of conservative organizations,” the group writes online.

Hands Off My Porn is referencing the foreword written by Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, who calls for pornography to be “outlawed.”

“It has no claim to First Amendment protection,” he writes. “Its purveyors are child predators and misogynistic exploiters of women. Their product is as addictive as any illicit drug and as psychologically destructive as any crime. Pornography should be outlawed. The people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned…telecommunications and technology firms that facilitate its spread should be shuttered.”

According to the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Supreme Court has found that people have the right to produce and consume pornography as long as it does not include underage minors.

Per researchers at Brigham Young University, 69 percent of men and 40 percent of women in the U.S. view porn every year.

Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025, saying he had “nothing to do with it.” However, many of the authors of Project 2025’s blueprint for a conservative administration in 2025 are former Trump appointees or allies.

Democrats have turned the document into a cudgel against Trump and Republicans, and it has been at the center of many of their attacks on Trump and congressional Republicans in the final sprint before the election.

The push appears to be working, with 70 to 80 percent of Americans saying they have heard of Project 2025, and the overwhelming majority of those who have heard about it disapprove of what the blueprint calls for.

Some Democrats, like Liz Plank, who co-founded Hotties for Harris, believe that Vice President Harris and Democrats should spend more time talking about Project 2025’s push to ban porn.

“One of the most insane parts of Project 2025 and their anti-sex agenda is this drive to criminalize porn,” Plank said. “Democrats should be talking to young men about this.”

“Democrats should be asking young men ‘Do you want the government to look at your search history?” she added. “They should be asking ‘Do you want to be put in jail for consuming porn?’”

According to Plank, Democrats must improve their outreach to younger men in the run-up to the election. This belief is backed by polls of young voters, which show a widening support gap for Harris between younger male and female voters.
I'm looking forward to the idiotic complaints Republicans make against this.
User avatar
Raw Shark
Stunt Driver / Babysitter
Posts: 7672
Joined: 2005-11-24 09:35am
Location: One Mile Up

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Raw Shark »

The kind of conservatives who talk about banning porn watch porn all the time. The rest of us just know the flavor they enjoy slapping the salami to better as The Handmaid's Tale.

"Do I really look like a guy with a plan? Y'know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it! Y'know, I just do things..." --The Joker
User avatar
Solauren
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 10333
Joined: 2003-05-11 09:41pm

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Solauren »

I'd like to remind everyone in the porn industry, that Canada has no such stupidity, and would welcome the industry with open arms.
I've been asked why I still follow a few of the people I know on Facebook with 'interesting political habits and view points'.

It's so when they comment on or approve of something, I know what pages to block/what not to vote for.
User avatar
Raw Shark
Stunt Driver / Babysitter
Posts: 7672
Joined: 2005-11-24 09:35am
Location: One Mile Up

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Raw Shark »

Solauren wrote: 2024-10-10 09:21am I'd like to remind everyone in the porn industry, that Canada has no such stupidity, and would welcome the industry with open arms.
Arms, legs... whatever, I'm sure. We're talking about some highly paid professionals with plenty of free time and disposable income here, whose industry comes with at least a few technical knock-off jobs involving the lights, camera while they do the action at higher quality levels.

"Do I really look like a guy with a plan? Y'know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it! Y'know, I just do things..." --The Joker
User avatar
Solauren
Emperor's Hand
Posts: 10333
Joined: 2003-05-11 09:41pm

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Solauren »

Raw Shark wrote: 2024-10-10 06:13pm
Solauren wrote: 2024-10-10 09:21am I'd like to remind everyone in the porn industry, that Canada has no such stupidity, and would welcome the industry with open arms.
Arms, legs... whatever, I'm sure. We're talking about some highly paid professionals with plenty of free time and disposable income here, whose industry comes with at least a few technical knock-off jobs involving the lights, camera while they do the action at higher quality levels.
I was more thinking the various levels of government welcoming the money they'd generate in taxes. That's more of someone opening up holes for them....
I've been asked why I still follow a few of the people I know on Facebook with 'interesting political habits and view points'.

It's so when they comment on or approve of something, I know what pages to block/what not to vote for.
User avatar
Raw Shark
Stunt Driver / Babysitter
Posts: 7672
Joined: 2005-11-24 09:35am
Location: One Mile Up

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Raw Shark »

Most sane municipalities would probably bend over backwards to be penetrated by that constituency.

"Do I really look like a guy with a plan? Y'know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it! Y'know, I just do things..." --The Joker
bilateralrope
Sith Acolyte
Posts: 6109
Joined: 2005-06-25 06:50pm
Location: New Zealand

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by bilateralrope »

Raw Shark wrote: 2024-10-10 08:55am The kind of conservatives who talk about banning porn watch porn all the time. The rest of us just know the flavor they enjoy slapping the salami to better as The Handmaid's Tale.
Well, that's what they say they enjoy. Pornhub's data disagrees:

2016 article: The red state gay porn habit: Why conservative states like Mississippi and North Carolina lead the nation in same-sex porn consumption

2023 year in review. Scroll down until you see the graphic showing which search term each state searches for a lot, relative to how often everyone else searches for it.
User avatar
EnterpriseSovereign
Sith Marauder
Posts: 4319
Joined: 2006-05-12 12:19pm
Location: Spacedock

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by EnterpriseSovereign »

bilateralrope wrote: 2024-10-11 12:41am
Raw Shark wrote: 2024-10-10 08:55am The kind of conservatives who talk about banning porn watch porn all the time. The rest of us just know the flavor they enjoy slapping the salami to better as The Handmaid's Tale.
Well, that's what they say they enjoy. Pornhub's data disagrees:

2016 article: The red state gay porn habit: Why conservative states like Mississippi and North Carolina lead the nation in same-sex porn consumption

2023 year in review. Scroll down until you see the graphic showing which search term each state searches for a lot, relative to how often everyone else searches for it.
I seriously laughed out loud when I saw the map of the USA and what each state searched for the most :lol:
User avatar
Raw Shark
Stunt Driver / Babysitter
Posts: 7672
Joined: 2005-11-24 09:35am
Location: One Mile Up

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by Raw Shark »

Yeah, I have traveled this great land of ours, and... it gets a little weird in the sticks. But y'know, what a person does in their own home is their own business. God (Who I don't believe in) Bless (You're wasting your time) America (Ain't what it was supposed to be, but I still have faith in the idea)

"Do I really look like a guy with a plan? Y'know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it! Y'know, I just do things..." --The Joker
bilateralrope
Sith Acolyte
Posts: 6109
Joined: 2005-06-25 06:50pm
Location: New Zealand

Re: US Election 2024: Grumpy Old Men

Post by bilateralrope »

Trump ground game undercut by slow internet that crashes app
Trump campaign wants to hit rural voters but slow internet limits the functionality of the Campaign Sidekick app

Hugo Lowell in Washington
Mon 14 Oct 2024 11.00 BST


Donald Trump’s campaign has limited ability to know whether their ground game operation is reaching target voters in battleground states, as the software being used needs fast internet service to properly track canvassers, according to multiple people familiar with the situation.

The Trump campaign this cycle is targeting so-called low propensity Trump voters, who are often in rural areas, as part of their bet that hitting those people who don’t typically vote but would cast a ballot for Trump if they did, could make a difference in a close election.

But the Trump campaign and the Elon Musk-backed America Pac, which is now doing an outsized portion of the Trump ground game, use a management app called Campaign Sidekick that struggles in areas with slow internet and means canvassers have to use an offline version.

The Campaign Sidekick app effectively forces canvassers who have less than 40mbps of internet – sufficient to stream 4K video – to use “offline walkbooks” which have no geo-tracking feature and do not always upload after a route is completed, the people said.

As a result, the Trump campaign and America Pac then have little way to know whether canvassers are actually knocking on doors or whether they are cheating – for instance, by “speed-running” routes where they literally throw campaign materials at doors as they drive past.

America Pac has tried to deter cheating by sending out teams of auditors to trail canvassers, but there is no way to directly audit every offline walkbook – which is particularly high because of the Trump campaign’s focus on hitting low propensity voters.

And even when canvassers legitimately complete a route offline, that data has sometimes failed to upload afterwards, the people said. Since the canvassers are paid by the door, they have to redo their work, wasting time and potentially annoying voters for harassing them twice.

“Maybe Elon Musk can give his canvassers a Starlink,” one political operative involved in the America Pac operation joked, referring to Musk’s satellite-based mobile internet router.

The Trump campaign has fielded complaints about Sidekick for some time, the people said. At least two other super Pacs, involved in doing ground game work on behalf of the Trump campaign in battleground states, have stopped using it for their own operations.

Those wider complaints include the app crashing during peak hours when there are many people using it at once, or tech glitches like the Google Maps preview in the app, which is there for canvassers to figure out their routes, being broken.

Campaign Sidekick has previously pushed back at the criticism, saying it has always been upfront about the limitations of offline walkbooks and recommends to clients to track factors that could indicate fraud, such as canvassers claiming they spoke to voters for more than 25% of doors they hit.

And The September Group LLC, a major canvassing vendor that was contracted by America Pac to door-knock in Arizona and Nevada until last month, is understood to have been broadly happy with Sidekick even if they eschewed using offline walkbooks because of its drawbacks.

The Trump campaign’s co-campaign chief Chris LaCivita dismissed the complaints, saying in a statement: “Our canvassing apps work fine, and we’ve invested in new technology this cycle that is unmatched in politics to supplement our efforts. This is a clear hit job from a failed vendor who we’ll be sure to name and shame as soon as we finish winning this campaign.”

LaCivita did not address why their suspicion hinges on a vendor, given the fact that the grievances have come primarily from their own ground game partners. The statement also failed to address that the campaign has been aware of the issues for some time.

There have been complaints about Campaign Sidekick from other groups, as well. Turning Point Action, run by the rightwing activist Charlie Kirk, told the Trump campaign they encountered so many difficulties that they would use their own app in Arizona and Wisconsin and parts of Michigan.

The complaints from Turning Point have centered on having to do everything manually. If a canvasser could only complete part of a door-knocking route, they complained, there was no way for the remaining doors to be automatically reassigned to another canvasser – those voters would simply not be reached at all.

The reason why the Trump campaign has stuck with the software is not entirely clear, apart from wanting continuity.

The Trump campaign took over the RNC in March and directed America Pac to use the app in part because the Trump team was already using it itself, and the thinking was it would be easier to analyze the data if it all came through the same system, a Trump official said.

But there have been political considerations as well. The Trump campaign decided not to use other platforms such as i360 Walk, partly as a result of distrust with its owners, the Koch brothers, who have opposed Trump in the past, one of the people said.

The Trump campaign also did not use software from Advantage Inc, seeing it as inferior and because the Florida governor Ron DeSantis used that platform for his get-out-the-vote operation during his 2024 Republican primary bid against Trump.

And the Numinar platform currently being used by America First Works, another Trump-allied Pac doing ground-game work, failed to gain traction with the RNC – for reasons that remain unclear – after it was pitched as an alternative to Campaign Sidekick earlier in this presidential cycle.
What exactly is this app doing to require enough bandwidth to stream at 4k ?

I also wonder which person close to Trump is getting kickbacks for keeping the Trump campaign using this software.
Post Reply