In Reply to: Pronouns and bathrooms are part of that basic respect posted by blindness on November 26, 2024 at 08:38:47
I understand that I am probably a bit on the optimistic side as to what I think this country is ready for based on where I live, but you are probably on the more pessimistic side for the same reason.
The last couple of decades has shown me is that where the country really is can't be captured by an oversimplified "Americans will never vote for an X type candidate" is off the mark in interesting ways. Would Americans as we know them have voted for a black man? For a divorced man whose personal contact is off the scale offensive? For gay marriage? For abortion rights? They came fairly close to electing a woman, twice. And last time, a black/south asian woman?
The only thing we know is that if a right kind of candidate comes along with the right "it" factor, the American people will vote for them. Charisma and a sense of personal connection really carries the day for the American voter. I think AOC has that. I know it's damn well impossible for the party orthodoxy to even give her a chance to show them wrong, but I think if somehow she magically ended up the candidate despite all the obstacles that will be thrown at her, I think she'll surprise a lot of people. She is the textbook definition of what Americans like in a candidate. She has a way of taking complicated concepts and distilling them down to a basic point people can all relate to (just like Buttegieg).