Jared Yates Sexton is finding former Republicans in Iowa who are thinking of voting for Biden

[highplainsdem]

Last edited Mon Feb 3, 2020, 12:11 AM - Edit history (1)

Two-tweet thread starting here, full text below:

Link to tweet

Talked with a lot of Joe Biden supporters today who are former Republicans who’ve left the party and switched membership because of disgust with Donald Trump and GOP behavior. Going into the caucuses they’re planning on supporting the former VP but are open to other candidates



One attendee at the Biden rally today said he was a diehard supporter of the Republican Party until the vote yesterday to move forward without witnesses. He says he still thinks Trump should be acquitted but the move was blatantly unfair and dangerous.

About an hour later he posted another tweet

Link to tweet

linking to this article he wrote:

https://www.themuckrake.com/main/iowa-biden

In the crowd was an odd smattering of attendees, including several who told me they had been diehard Republicans before Trump took over the party and members began enabling him. One, from Cedar Rapids, said he’d participated in politics at the local and state level for twenty years. Trump’s crimes, his petty feuds, his blatant disregard for the good of the country, drove him to switch registration. “I didn’t leave the damn party,” he said. “The damn party left me.”

Another man told me he was still a Republican, still a diehard Trump supporter, still convinced the president should be acquitted of impeachment, but Republicans voting against witnesses had been “a bridge too far” and was making him reconsider.

“If you don’t have anything to hide, why’re you hiding it? Just what’re you doing?”

The man said he wasn’t in a hurry to support Biden, but the obvious miscarriage of justice drove him to come to hear Biden speak and see what he had to say.

We can use their votes. Presidential elections often include about 10% crossover votes from each party.

OTOH, we do NOT want Republicans who are planning to vote for Trump in the fall voting in the Democratic primary for Sanders, as Hugh Hewitt has announced he'll be doing, just to get a candidate they think they can easily beat.

And if any Iowa Democrats at the caucuses recognize neighbors they know are still MAGAts who've re-registered just for the evening, just to meddle, I hope those people can be questioned during the caucus...and maybe they'll leave.

[HarlanPepper]

1. This demonstrates Biden's broad appeal.

Some will criticize him for wanting to appeal to malleable voters on the other side, cuz purity, but it's a strength IMO.

[Beartracks]

2. I remember my formerly-Democratic parents saying "the party left them"...

... and not the other way around.

I suppose that can happen to Republicans, too, but DAMN it sure takes a shitload of change for them to realize it.

========

[in2herbs]

3. Question: If these Rs are now climbing on the D bandwagon, why should we make an

effort to get along with Rs as some candidates have said? Clearly, the Rs who are deserting the R party are not looking for a trump clone in the D party.

[Scurrilous]

4. ...

[NYMinute]

5. K&R Go Joe!! nt