Jan 1, 0001 00:00 · 703 words · 4 minute read

Mr Obama also stressed it was a personal opinion, saying he still supported states deciding on the issue. On other issues he might have been leader or follower at various times. I’m speaking only on marriage equality. weak sauce

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-18013432/barack-obama-supports-same-sex-marriage

What was left unsaid, of course, was that he and Clinton are among those who used to run against same-sex marriage but have since changed their tune.

And even as they’ve each positioned themselves as leaders and champions on the issue, they are hardly pioneers in their own parties. In fact, they jumped on-board well after gay marriage attained overwhelming majority support among Democrats.

good graph - https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/3FVYAU4SV43XFO2XQBVC2KVERU.jpg&w=916

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/06/26/obama-and-clinton-love-to-celebrate-gay-marriage-now-heres-how-late-they-were-to-the-party/

Obama complained: “I’m just not very good at bullshitting.”

Obama’s evolution has roughly tracked public opinion. National opposition to same-sex marriage began a sharp decline after President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman, into law in 1996. A majority of the public began to favor same-sex marriage sometime between 2010 and 2011, according to analysis by FiveThirtyEight.

Sleepy Joe supported it first and then good friend Barack

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/10/obama-frustrated-same-sex-marriage-david-axelrod-book

gay marriage change - https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/change-doesnt-usually-come-this-fast/

interracial marriage - https://news.gallup.com/poll/163697/approve-marriage-blacks-whites.aspx

haven’t gone through this

https://time.com/3816952/obama-gay-lesbian-transgender-lgbt-rights/

Leading feels good when you’re in the minority and agree with the approach

Leading feels shitty when you disagree with the stance

  • Joe Biden - followed on busing, still following.

[08:38, 13/08/2020] Krishna: Let’s say you’re a senator that represents a state of a million people (only a little more than the average house district).

Let’s say your constituents are don’t like desegregation and busing. What do you do? Do you spend your own money and time convincing them they’re wrong and you’re right … or do you represent the will of the majority? [08:42, 13/08/2020] Krishna: It’s a hard question with no easy answer.

Senator Joe Biden of the tiny state of Delaware opposed desegregation and busing because his people hated it. Because he did a good job of representing their interests, Joe was re-elected for 36 years.

But two things happened - the electorate changes their views because old people die. And secondly, Joe’s constituency changed from tiny Delaware to the entire US.

So he has to defend a stance that was popular in a lily white state in the 70s to a diverse nation in 2020. [08:45, 13/08/2020] Krishna: Same with republican senators who acquitted Trump. Do they vote for what’s right or vote for what their constituents want? Trump had a 90%+ approval rating with republican voters, so all of them wanted him acquitted. The senators were democratically representing the views of their people, rather than imposing their personal views on a resistant electorate. [08:49, 13/08/2020] Krishna: The Joe Biden example is also why I don’t value “consistency” that much.

It’s easier to be consistent if the demographics of your electorate never change. But if you become a state level politician or a national level politician, your message will change. And because the nation changes its mind with time, your message will need to as well.

Look at Barack “marriage is between a man and a woman” Obama from 2008 and Barack “my views on marriage are evolving” Obama from 2012. His views never changed, he was lying through his teeth. But the American people were rapidly changing their minds so he had to change his public stance as well.

Clinton voters agreeing with Trump - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzC-l7tovFk

538 - Political science shows us that voters follow cues from their parties, and are more likely to change their opinions on issues to align with their partisan identity than they are to change their partisan identity to fit with preexisting opinions.

From https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-there-are-so-few-moderate-republicans-left/

Citing https://washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/junejulyaugust-2017/tribalists-and-ideologues/

Trump has changed a number of key conservative positions. People changed their own views rather tha changing their team.

  • define “follower” well

Narendra modi