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Probably why he's considering - or talking about - it now.

by tbronchain 6y ago

bamboozled 6y ago
Was thinking the same thing, sounds like he's looking to win some votes back.
- smsm42 6y ago
  He won't be winning many votes back, as those who like Snowden likely didn't vote for him, but he might be considering winning some votes "forward", as it's not likely Republicans would vote for Biden just to spite Trump for pardoning Snowden - who is increasingly irrelevant anyway, he did what he did and by now nobody cares about his personal destiny too much and it's not likely there's a chance to punish him anyway. But if he could win some independents who are on the fence - that would be nice.
- lightgreen 6y ago
  This is a good thing, right? Polititians try to do the right things to win votes. This is how democracy works.
  - tbronchain 6y ago
    It is the right thing when they have consistent ideas they do - or will implement. It is the wrong thing when they publicly consider a bunch of things they won't do, or do tiny but loud actions without consistency, that are not aligned with their political agenda but just wish to win votes. Disclaimer: I'm not American, but that's a pattern we unfortunately see a lot these days
    - cryptonector 6y ago
      If someone does the right thing for the wrong reasons, what's the problem? It's certainly better than them not doing the right thing at all. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/353571-a-foolish-consistency-is-the-hobgoblin-of-little-minds-adored https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/353571-a-foolish-consistenc... https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/738162-i-do-not-believe-that-the-solution-to-our-problem https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/738162-i-do-not-believe-tha... “I do not believe that the solution to our problem is simply to elect the right people. The important thing is to establish a political climate of opinion which will make it politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right thing. Unless it is politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right thing, the right people will not do the right thing either, or it they try, they will shortly be out of office.” -Milton Friedman ^^^^ Similarly, the reasons the wrong people do the right things are not too important, as long as they're doing the right things.
  - pdr2020 6y ago
    Yes. Whether they truly believe in what they do or not, I would prefer a politician like Trump over an "internally consistent" one like Carrie Lam/Xi. At least Trump is scared enough to act differently than how he might truly believe.

Probably why he's considering - or talking about - it now.

bamboozled 6y ago

Was thinking the same thing, sounds like he's looking to win some votes back.

smsm42 6y ago
He won't be winning many votes back, as those who like Snowden likely didn't vote for him, but he might be considering winning some votes "forward", as it's not likely Republicans would vote for Biden just to spite Trump for pardoning Snowden - who is increasingly irrelevant anyway, he did what he did and by now nobody cares about his personal destiny too much and it's not likely there's a chance to punish him anyway. But if he could win some independents who are on the fence - that would be nice.
lightgreen 6y ago
This is a good thing, right? Polititians try to do the right things to win votes. This is how democracy works.
- tbronchain 6y ago
  It is the right thing when they have consistent ideas they do - or will implement. It is the wrong thing when they publicly consider a bunch of things they won't do, or do tiny but loud actions without consistency, that are not aligned with their political agenda but just wish to win votes. Disclaimer: I'm not American, but that's a pattern we unfortunately see a lot these days
  - cryptonector 6y ago
    If someone does the right thing for the wrong reasons, what's the problem? It's certainly better than them not doing the right thing at all. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/353571-a-foolish-consistency-is-the-hobgoblin-of-little-minds-adored https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/353571-a-foolish-consistenc... https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/738162-i-do-not-believe-that-the-solution-to-our-problem https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/738162-i-do-not-believe-tha... “I do not believe that the solution to our problem is simply to elect the right people. The important thing is to establish a political climate of opinion which will make it politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right thing. Unless it is politically profitable for the wrong people to do the right thing, the right people will not do the right thing either, or it they try, they will shortly be out of office.” -Milton Friedman ^^^^ Similarly, the reasons the wrong people do the right things are not too important, as long as they're doing the right things.
- pdr2020 6y ago
  Yes. Whether they truly believe in what they do or not, I would prefer a politician like Trump over an "internally consistent" one like Carrie Lam/Xi. At least Trump is scared enough to act differently than how he might truly believe.