AZ-SEN 2022 Megathread: Mastering the Art of the Thiel

[wbrocks67]

This is pretty interesting, as Masters is one of very few Republican candidates who’s trying to make government overreach in the context of COVID-19 a key theme of his campaign. He’s also pivoting away from Trump -

After a bruising primary campaign, Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters and his team are seeking to center his general election against Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly on what they term as “cultural issues,” immigration, inflation and COVID-19, among other topics.

A recent Masters speech at a Turning Point Action event, where he was joined by GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, suggests he sees latent frustration at the lockdowns and mask mandates of two years ago as an issue that could attract voters in November.

Masters never once mentioned politically divisive former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement he promoted until winning the Republican primary. Instead, he talked about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new COVID-19 guidelines, which eliminate isolation restrictions for unvaccinated people.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/20/senate-hopeful-blake-masters-aims-government-overreach-covid-19/10341704002/

Looks smart. Arizona does feel like a place in which an "non-libertarian thing the government did" could be more effectively attacked than elsewhere.

Except immigration continues to sink in the top issues for voters and COVID-19 is basically non-existent in voters worries as well.

I get the idea that he's pushing but it's kind of like pushing CRT at this point. It's just not as potent of an issue.

[Devout Centrist]

This is pretty interesting, as Masters is one of very few Republican candidates who’s trying to make government overreach in the context of COVID-19 a key theme of his campaign. He’s also pivoting away from Trump -

After a bruising primary campaign, Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters and his team are seeking to center his general election against Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly on what they term as “cultural issues,” immigration, inflation and COVID-19, among other topics.

A recent Masters speech at a Turning Point Action event, where he was joined by GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, suggests he sees latent frustration at the lockdowns and mask mandates of two years ago as an issue that could attract voters in November.

Masters never once mentioned politically divisive former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement he promoted until winning the Republican primary. Instead, he talked about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new COVID-19 guidelines, which eliminate isolation restrictions for unvaccinated people.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/20/senate-hopeful-blake-masters-aims-government-overreach-covid-19/10341704002/

“Interesting” insofar as there are a boatload of insane statements he’s made that directly contradict this laughable pivot. No one here is going to take this seriously.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

This is pretty interesting, as Masters is one of very few Republican candidates who’s trying to make government overreach in the context of COVID-19 a key theme of his campaign. He’s also pivoting away from Trump -

After a bruising primary campaign, Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters and his team are seeking to center his general election against Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly on what they term as “cultural issues,” immigration, inflation and COVID-19, among other topics.

A recent Masters speech at a Turning Point Action event, where he was joined by GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, suggests he sees latent frustration at the lockdowns and mask mandates of two years ago as an issue that could attract voters in November.

Masters never once mentioned politically divisive former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement he promoted until winning the Republican primary. Instead, he talked about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new COVID-19 guidelines, which eliminate isolation restrictions for unvaccinated people.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/20/senate-hopeful-blake-masters-aims-government-overreach-covid-19/10341704002/

Looks smart. Arizona does feel like a place in which an "non-libertarian thing the government did" could be more effectively attacked than elsewhere.

Except immigration continues to sink in the top issues for voters and COVID-19 is basically non-existent in voters worries as well.

I get the idea that he's pushing but it's kind of like pushing CRT at this point. It's just not as potent of an issue.

Hmm.
If you were Masters at this point, what would you campaign on and how would you focus your attention?

[Unelectable Bystander]

This is pretty interesting, as Masters is one of very few Republican candidates who’s trying to make government overreach in the context of COVID-19 a key theme of his campaign. He’s also pivoting away from Trump -

After a bruising primary campaign, Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters and his team are seeking to center his general election against Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly on what they term as “cultural issues,” immigration, inflation and COVID-19, among other topics.

A recent Masters speech at a Turning Point Action event, where he was joined by GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, suggests he sees latent frustration at the lockdowns and mask mandates of two years ago as an issue that could attract voters in November.

Masters never once mentioned politically divisive former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement he promoted until winning the Republican primary. Instead, he talked about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new COVID-19 guidelines, which eliminate isolation restrictions for unvaccinated people.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/20/senate-hopeful-blake-masters-aims-government-overreach-covid-19/10341704002/

It’s malpractice that we’re not seeing more R’s hammer the covid issue. I know it’s settled, but they resoundingly won the debate. Democrats, on the other hand, will smartly talk an issue into oblivion if they feel they have the upper hand. We need less vengeful toxicity towards people like Fauci and more proposals like “the government mandate protection act”, particularly in places like Arizona and Nevada.

We’ll see if they’re smart enough to use the student loans situation to an advantage. They should be portraying Biden as a good ol’ boy giving out checks to upper middle class white yuppie’s while the economy is bad. Instead we’ll probably see more lines like “vote for me to reduce inflation!” as if voters will think republicans are magical inflation specialists

[GeorgiaModerate]

This is pretty interesting, as Masters is one of very few Republican candidates who’s trying to make government overreach in the context of COVID-19 a key theme of his campaign. He’s also pivoting away from Trump -

After a bruising primary campaign, Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters and his team are seeking to center his general election against Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly on what they term as “cultural issues,” immigration, inflation and COVID-19, among other topics.

A recent Masters speech at a Turning Point Action event, where he was joined by GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, suggests he sees latent frustration at the lockdowns and mask mandates of two years ago as an issue that could attract voters in November.

Masters never once mentioned politically divisive former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement he promoted until winning the Republican primary. Instead, he talked about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new COVID-19 guidelines, which eliminate isolation restrictions for unvaccinated people.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/20/senate-hopeful-blake-masters-aims-government-overreach-covid-19/10341704002/

It’s malpractice that we’re not seeing more R’s hammer the covid issue. I know it’s settled, but they resoundingly won the debate. Democrats, on the other hand, will smartly talk an issue into oblivion if they feel they have the upper hand. We need less vengeful toxicity towards people like Fauci and more proposals like “the government mandate protection act”, particularly in places like Arizona and Nevada.

We’ll see if they’re smart enough to use the student loans situation to an advantage. They should be portraying Biden as a good ol’ boy giving out checks to upper middle class white yuppie’s while the economy is bad. Instead we’ll probably see more lines like “vote for me to reduce inflation!” as if voters will think republicans are magical inflation specialists

I gotta admit this made me picture the person at a gift shop who fills up the helium balloons.

[ProgressiveModerate]

This is pretty interesting, as Masters is one of very few Republican candidates who’s trying to make government overreach in the context of COVID-19 a key theme of his campaign. He’s also pivoting away from Trump -

After a bruising primary campaign, Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters and his team are seeking to center his general election against Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly on what they term as “cultural issues,” immigration, inflation and COVID-19, among other topics.

A recent Masters speech at a Turning Point Action event, where he was joined by GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, suggests he sees latent frustration at the lockdowns and mask mandates of two years ago as an issue that could attract voters in November.

Masters never once mentioned politically divisive former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement he promoted until winning the Republican primary. Instead, he talked about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new COVID-19 guidelines, which eliminate isolation restrictions for unvaccinated people.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/20/senate-hopeful-blake-masters-aims-government-overreach-covid-19/10341704002/

Looks smart. Arizona does feel like a place in which an "non-libertarian thing the government did" could be more effectively attacked than elsewhere.

Except immigration continues to sink in the top issues for voters and COVID-19 is basically non-existent in voters worries as well.

I get the idea that he's pushing but it's kind of like pushing CRT at this point. It's just not as potent of an issue.

I think there are a lot of voters still salty about COVID for one reason or another, be it school closures or lack of work, and tapping in to people's anger always seems to be one of the most successful strategies. You don't want to overdo it but giving people a gentle reminder now and then helps.

Immigration really only seems to work in Texas where you have several major entrance points that overflow. Even though AZ is a border state, only a very small part of the border sees any action.

[RussFeingoldWasRobbed]

This is pretty interesting, as Masters is one of very few Republican candidates who’s trying to make government overreach in the context of COVID-19 a key theme of his campaign. He’s also pivoting away from Trump -

After a bruising primary campaign, Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters and his team are seeking to center his general election against Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly on what they term as “cultural issues,” immigration, inflation and COVID-19, among other topics.

A recent Masters speech at a Turning Point Action event, where he was joined by GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, suggests he sees latent frustration at the lockdowns and mask mandates of two years ago as an issue that could attract voters in November.

Masters never once mentioned politically divisive former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement he promoted until winning the Republican primary. Instead, he talked about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new COVID-19 guidelines, which eliminate isolation restrictions for unvaccinated people.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/20/senate-hopeful-blake-masters-aims-government-overreach-covid-19/10341704002/

And people think democrats are going to hold the senate? Give me a break!

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

This is pretty interesting, as Masters is one of very few Republican candidates who’s trying to make government overreach in the context of COVID-19 a key theme of his campaign. He’s also pivoting away from Trump -

After a bruising primary campaign, Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters and his team are seeking to center his general election against Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly on what they term as “cultural issues,” immigration, inflation and COVID-19, among other topics.

A recent Masters speech at a Turning Point Action event, where he was joined by GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, suggests he sees latent frustration at the lockdowns and mask mandates of two years ago as an issue that could attract voters in November.

Masters never once mentioned politically divisive former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement he promoted until winning the Republican primary. Instead, he talked about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new COVID-19 guidelines, which eliminate isolation restrictions for unvaccinated people.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/20/senate-hopeful-blake-masters-aims-government-overreach-covid-19/10341704002/

And people think democrats are going to hold the senate? Give me a break!

Against the guy who wants to privatize Social Security? It’s more likely than you’d think.

[wbrocks67]

This is pretty interesting, as Masters is one of very few Republican candidates who’s trying to make government overreach in the context of COVID-19 a key theme of his campaign. He’s also pivoting away from Trump -

After a bruising primary campaign, Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters and his team are seeking to center his general election against Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly on what they term as “cultural issues,” immigration, inflation and COVID-19, among other topics.

A recent Masters speech at a Turning Point Action event, where he was joined by GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, suggests he sees latent frustration at the lockdowns and mask mandates of two years ago as an issue that could attract voters in November.

Masters never once mentioned politically divisive former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement he promoted until winning the Republican primary. Instead, he talked about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new COVID-19 guidelines, which eliminate isolation restrictions for unvaccinated people.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/20/senate-hopeful-blake-masters-aims-government-overreach-covid-19/10341704002/

It’s malpractice that we’re not seeing more R’s hammer the covid issue. I know it’s settled, but they resoundingly won the debate. Democrats, on the other hand, will smartly talk an issue into oblivion if they feel they have the upper hand. We need less vengeful toxicity towards people like Fauci and more proposals like “the government mandate protection act”, particularly in places like Arizona and Nevada.

We’ll see if they’re smart enough to use the student loans situation to an advantage. They should be portraying Biden as a good ol’ boy giving out checks to upper middle class white yuppie’s while the economy is bad. Instead we’ll probably see more lines like “vote for me to reduce inflation!” as if voters will think republicans are magical inflation specialists

You really don't understand *who* exactly has college loans, do you? This is exactly the type of tone-deafness that will hurt Republicans even more with constituencies that are trending against them (not just college+ whites, but minorities, young people, etc.)

[Brittain33]

Not here, but on Twitter - lots of people are telling on themselves by eliding “people with student debt” with “white people.”

[Dr Oz Lost Party!]

Abortion really has the GOP spooked.

https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1562882136046436352?s=20&t=6d5Azd4SDt_...

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

538 and DSCC has Kelly as 80% chance to win anyway, he has never lead in a poll

[windjammer]

Well in the end Molinaro didn't campaign on abortion but he still lost

[GeorgiaModerate]

Well in the end Molinaro didn't campaign on abortion but he still lost

Ryan did, though.  He placed a strong emphasis on it.

[Brittain33]

This shows Masters is smart and playing the best cards he has. Will it be enough if abortion is banned by the arcane state law? I don’t know.

[xavier110]

Honestly, I think this about face gives Kelly another layer to the abortion offense — calling Masters a liar. He can tie Masters to the long line of conservatives who proclaimed they were pro life but that Roe v Wade was off the table… until they overturned it.

[Brittain33]

Honestly, I think this about face gives Kelly another layer to the abortion offense — calling Masters a liar. He can tie Masters to the long line of conservatives who proclaimed they were pro life but that Roe v Wade was off the table… until they overturned it.

I’m curious if the pro-life base is smart enough to give Masters a pass on the edits he’s made. I think anything that keeps abortion in the news is going to hurt Republicans, and that includes Masters trying to make this about pro-choice extremism because it just reminds cross-pressured voters how they feel about a ban.

[GALeftist]

This pivot is hilarious. Sorry bud but Marc Molinaro was by all accounts a real moderate on abortion (relative to other Republicans, anyway). Didn't matter, Pat Ryan put choice on all his signs and it did the trick with turnout. You, however, broadcasted an ad saying "there is a genocide happening in America."

[Unelectable Bystander]

This is pretty interesting, as Masters is one of very few Republican candidates who’s trying to make government overreach in the context of COVID-19 a key theme of his campaign. He’s also pivoting away from Trump -

After a bruising primary campaign, Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters and his team are seeking to center his general election against Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly on what they term as “cultural issues,” immigration, inflation and COVID-19, among other topics.

A recent Masters speech at a Turning Point Action event, where he was joined by GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, suggests he sees latent frustration at the lockdowns and mask mandates of two years ago as an issue that could attract voters in November.

Masters never once mentioned politically divisive former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement he promoted until winning the Republican primary. Instead, he talked about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new COVID-19 guidelines, which eliminate isolation restrictions for unvaccinated people.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/20/senate-hopeful-blake-masters-aims-government-overreach-covid-19/10341704002/

It’s malpractice that we’re not seeing more R’s hammer the covid issue. I know it’s settled, but they resoundingly won the debate. Democrats, on the other hand, will smartly talk an issue into oblivion if they feel they have the upper hand. We need less vengeful toxicity towards people like Fauci and more proposals like “the government mandate protection act”, particularly in places like Arizona and Nevada.

We’ll see if they’re smart enough to use the student loans situation to an advantage. They should be portraying Biden as a good ol’ boy giving out checks to upper middle class white yuppie’s while the economy is bad. Instead we’ll probably see more lines like “vote for me to reduce inflation!” as if voters will think republicans are magical inflation specialists

You really don't understand *who* exactly has college loans, do you? This is exactly the type of tone-deafness that will hurt Republicans even more with constituencies that are trending against them (not just college+ whites, but minorities, young people, etc.)

I’m not going to argue about the realities of the issue itself on this thread, but I did not say that’s the reality. I said that’s what they should make the perception. Regardless, there’s not some huge pool of swing voters who are college educated with loans currently. That’s an extremely small subset of the voting population and the vast majority are already hostile to republicans. Of the ones that aren’t, many are already partisan republicans.

Meanwhile, I can think of several angles republicans can use it;

1. Driving a wedge with middle-aged college educated voters that already paid loans off. I personally know of two democrats in this boat that were angered by the idea. It’s not just some fringe group

2. Driving a wedge with voters of all races that never attended college. This is also one of the most “undecided” subgroups according to multiple polls

3. Having a concrete example to campaign on Biden ignoring inflation. Regardless of if it’s actually contributing to inflation, voters associate inflation with handing out free money.

4. Changing the subject of debate, and hoping the media keys in on the annoying Twitter libs that are complaining about wanting more (another thing I’ve heard even democrats be exasperated by)

[wbrocks67]

This is pretty interesting, as Masters is one of very few Republican candidates who’s trying to make government overreach in the context of COVID-19 a key theme of his campaign. He’s also pivoting away from Trump -

After a bruising primary campaign, Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters and his team are seeking to center his general election against Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly on what they term as “cultural issues,” immigration, inflation and COVID-19, among other topics.

A recent Masters speech at a Turning Point Action event, where he was joined by GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, suggests he sees latent frustration at the lockdowns and mask mandates of two years ago as an issue that could attract voters in November.

Masters never once mentioned politically divisive former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement he promoted until winning the Republican primary. Instead, he talked about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new COVID-19 guidelines, which eliminate isolation restrictions for unvaccinated people.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/20/senate-hopeful-blake-masters-aims-government-overreach-covid-19/10341704002/

It’s malpractice that we’re not seeing more R’s hammer the covid issue. I know it’s settled, but they resoundingly won the debate. Democrats, on the other hand, will smartly talk an issue into oblivion if they feel they have the upper hand. We need less vengeful toxicity towards people like Fauci and more proposals like “the government mandate protection act”, particularly in places like Arizona and Nevada.

We’ll see if they’re smart enough to use the student loans situation to an advantage. They should be portraying Biden as a good ol’ boy giving out checks to upper middle class white yuppie’s while the economy is bad. Instead we’ll probably see more lines like “vote for me to reduce inflation!” as if voters will think republicans are magical inflation specialists

You really don't understand *who* exactly has college loans, do you? This is exactly the type of tone-deafness that will hurt Republicans even more with constituencies that are trending against them (not just college+ whites, but minorities, young people, etc.)

I’m not going to argue about the realities of the issue itself on this thread, but I did not say that’s the reality. I said that’s what they should make the perception. Regardless, there’s not some huge pool of swing voters who are college educated with loans currently. That’s an extremely small subset of the voting population and the vast majority are already hostile to republicans. Of the ones that aren’t, many are already partisan republicans.

Meanwhile, I can think of several angles republicans can use it;

1. Driving a wedge with middle-aged college educated voters that already paid loans off. I personally know of two democrats in this boat that were angered by the idea. It’s not just some fringe group

2. Driving a wedge with voters of all races that never attended college. This is also one of the most “undecided” subgroups according to multiple polls

3. Having a concrete example to campaign on Biden ignoring inflation. Regardless of if it’s actually contributing to inflation, voters associate inflation with handing out free money.

4. Changing the subject of debate, and hoping the media keys in on the annoying Twitter libs that are complaining about wanting more (another thing I’ve heard even democrats be exasperated by)

Sorry bub, you're not gonna win this one. A large majority of those with student loans make <$80K a year. That IS the middle class. The only people actually upset about this are rich people.

[wbrocks67]

This entire thing is a hot mess and this just makes it even worse for Masters. Kelly can now call him a liar and someone who's willing to just say whatever to get elected.

Masters is now *lying* about his previous stance. He's just digging himself into a bigger hole

https://twitter.com/bgmasters/status/1562813594588176388

[Progressive Pessimist]

The problem for Masters and other Republicans potentially pivoting from their extreme abortion views is that the GOP brand itself is so heavily tied to the Dobbs decision that they can do all the backpedaling they want, but voters who are the most concerned about reproductive rights will not buy it. That's why Molinaro lost. It may be nearly impossible for the GOP to change perceptions on the issue after vying for the Dobbs decision, very blatantly, over a fifty year period.

Also, if I may address Masters bringing up COVID restrictions, if he was running against Gavin Newsom maybe he would have a point with the issue. But what is the logic in using it against Kelly? He isn't Arizona's Governor. As far as I know, Ducey still is and anything involving more specific statewide COVID restrictions are his responsibility. And even then, the CDC has changed from its 2020/2021 policies and COVID as a whole is not on many voters' minds, for better or worse.

All in all, Masters' new strategy reeks of desperation and possibly supports the fact that he is down in the polls. Give him some credit for at least trying to alter his tactics, I suppose. It's too late to undo his Peter Thiel-Trump puppet appearance, but it's probably better than going for personal attacks out of desperation like Oz is doing.

[Unelectable Bystander]

This is pretty interesting, as Masters is one of very few Republican candidates who’s trying to make government overreach in the context of COVID-19 a key theme of his campaign. He’s also pivoting away from Trump -

After a bruising primary campaign, Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters and his team are seeking to center his general election against Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly on what they term as “cultural issues,” immigration, inflation and COVID-19, among other topics.

A recent Masters speech at a Turning Point Action event, where he was joined by GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, suggests he sees latent frustration at the lockdowns and mask mandates of two years ago as an issue that could attract voters in November.

Masters never once mentioned politically divisive former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement he promoted until winning the Republican primary. Instead, he talked about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new COVID-19 guidelines, which eliminate isolation restrictions for unvaccinated people.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/20/senate-hopeful-blake-masters-aims-government-overreach-covid-19/10341704002/

It’s malpractice that we’re not seeing more R’s hammer the covid issue. I know it’s settled, but they resoundingly won the debate. Democrats, on the other hand, will smartly talk an issue into oblivion if they feel they have the upper hand. We need less vengeful toxicity towards people like Fauci and more proposals like “the government mandate protection act”, particularly in places like Arizona and Nevada.

We’ll see if they’re smart enough to use the student loans situation to an advantage. They should be portraying Biden as a good ol’ boy giving out checks to upper middle class white yuppie’s while the economy is bad. Instead we’ll probably see more lines like “vote for me to reduce inflation!” as if voters will think republicans are magical inflation specialists

You really don't understand *who* exactly has college loans, do you? This is exactly the type of tone-deafness that will hurt Republicans even more with constituencies that are trending against them (not just college+ whites, but minorities, young people, etc.)

I’m not going to argue about the realities of the issue itself on this thread, but I did not say that’s the reality. I said that’s what they should make the perception. Regardless, there’s not some huge pool of swing voters who are college educated with loans currently. That’s an extremely small subset of the voting population and the vast majority are already hostile to republicans. Of the ones that aren’t, many are already partisan republicans.

Meanwhile, I can think of several angles republicans can use it;

1. Driving a wedge with middle-aged college educated voters that already paid loans off. I personally know of two democrats in this boat that were angered by the idea. It’s not just some fringe group

2. Driving a wedge with voters of all races that never attended college. This is also one of the most “undecided” subgroups according to multiple polls

3. Having a concrete example to campaign on Biden ignoring inflation. Regardless of if it’s actually contributing to inflation, voters associate inflation with handing out free money.

4. Changing the subject of debate, and hoping the media keys in on the annoying Twitter libs that are complaining about wanting more (another thing I’ve heard even democrats be exasperated by)

Sorry bub, you're not gonna win this one. A large majority of those with student loans make <$80K a year. That IS the middle class. The only people actually upset about this are rich people.

Again, the middle class is very large, including tons of non-college graduates, and jealousy is a heck of a drug. I’m not saying it will hand the election to Masters, but it’s something he could use if phrased properly.  

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

This is pretty interesting, as Masters is one of very few Republican candidates who’s trying to make government overreach in the context of COVID-19 a key theme of his campaign. He’s also pivoting away from Trump -

After a bruising primary campaign, Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters and his team are seeking to center his general election against Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly on what they term as “cultural issues,” immigration, inflation and COVID-19, among other topics.

A recent Masters speech at a Turning Point Action event, where he was joined by GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, suggests he sees latent frustration at the lockdowns and mask mandates of two years ago as an issue that could attract voters in November.

Masters never once mentioned politically divisive former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement he promoted until winning the Republican primary. Instead, he talked about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new COVID-19 guidelines, which eliminate isolation restrictions for unvaccinated people.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/20/senate-hopeful-blake-masters-aims-government-overreach-covid-19/10341704002/

It’s malpractice that we’re not seeing more R’s hammer the covid issue. I know it’s settled, but they resoundingly won the debate. Democrats, on the other hand, will smartly talk an issue into oblivion if they feel they have the upper hand. We need less vengeful toxicity towards people like Fauci and more proposals like “the government mandate protection act”, particularly in places like Arizona and Nevada.

We’ll see if they’re smart enough to use the student loans situation to an advantage. They should be portraying Biden as a good ol’ boy giving out checks to upper middle class white yuppie’s while the economy is bad. Instead we’ll probably see more lines like “vote for me to reduce inflation!” as if voters will think republicans are magical inflation specialists

You really don't understand *who* exactly has college loans, do you? This is exactly the type of tone-deafness that will hurt Republicans even more with constituencies that are trending against them (not just college+ whites, but minorities, young people, etc.)

I’m not going to argue about the realities of the issue itself on this thread, but I did not say that’s the reality. I said that’s what they should make the perception. Regardless, there’s not some huge pool of swing voters who are college educated with loans currently. That’s an extremely small subset of the voting population and the vast majority are already hostile to republicans. Of the ones that aren’t, many are already partisan republicans.

Meanwhile, I can think of several angles republicans can use it;

1. Driving a wedge with middle-aged college educated voters that already paid loans off. I personally know of two democrats in this boat that were angered by the idea. It’s not just some fringe group

2. Driving a wedge with voters of all races that never attended college. This is also one of the most “undecided” subgroups according to multiple polls

3. Having a concrete example to campaign on Biden ignoring inflation. Regardless of if it’s actually contributing to inflation, voters associate inflation with handing out free money.

4. Changing the subject of debate, and hoping the media keys in on the annoying Twitter libs that are complaining about wanting more (another thing I’ve heard even democrats be exasperated by)

Sorry bub, you're not gonna win this one. A large majority of those with student loans make <$80K a year. That IS the middle class. The only people actually upset about this are rich people.

Again, the middle class is very large, including tons of non-college graduates, and jealousy is a heck of a drug. I’m not saying it will hand the election to Masters, but it’s something he could use if phrased properly.  

The one pill we’ve gotten about this says that the debt forgiveness is pretty popular nationwide - including among non-college graduates.

[Unelectable Bystander]

This is pretty interesting, as Masters is one of very few Republican candidates who’s trying to make government overreach in the context of COVID-19 a key theme of his campaign. He’s also pivoting away from Trump -

After a bruising primary campaign, Arizona Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters and his team are seeking to center his general election against Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly on what they term as “cultural issues,” immigration, inflation and COVID-19, among other topics.

A recent Masters speech at a Turning Point Action event, where he was joined by GOP gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, suggests he sees latent frustration at the lockdowns and mask mandates of two years ago as an issue that could attract voters in November.

Masters never once mentioned politically divisive former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement he promoted until winning the Republican primary. Instead, he talked about the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new COVID-19 guidelines, which eliminate isolation restrictions for unvaccinated people.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/20/senate-hopeful-blake-masters-aims-government-overreach-covid-19/10341704002/

It’s malpractice that we’re not seeing more R’s hammer the covid issue. I know it’s settled, but they resoundingly won the debate. Democrats, on the other hand, will smartly talk an issue into oblivion if they feel they have the upper hand. We need less vengeful toxicity towards people like Fauci and more proposals like “the government mandate protection act”, particularly in places like Arizona and Nevada.

We’ll see if they’re smart enough to use the student loans situation to an advantage. They should be portraying Biden as a good ol’ boy giving out checks to upper middle class white yuppie’s while the economy is bad. Instead we’ll probably see more lines like “vote for me to reduce inflation!” as if voters will think republicans are magical inflation specialists

You really don't understand *who* exactly has college loans, do you? This is exactly the type of tone-deafness that will hurt Republicans even more with constituencies that are trending against them (not just college+ whites, but minorities, young people, etc.)

I’m not going to argue about the realities of the issue itself on this thread, but I did not say that’s the reality. I said that’s what they should make the perception. Regardless, there’s not some huge pool of swing voters who are college educated with loans currently. That’s an extremely small subset of the voting population and the vast majority are already hostile to republicans. Of the ones that aren’t, many are already partisan republicans.

Meanwhile, I can think of several angles republicans can use it;

1. Driving a wedge with middle-aged college educated voters that already paid loans off. I personally know of two democrats in this boat that were angered by the idea. It’s not just some fringe group

2. Driving a wedge with voters of all races that never attended college. This is also one of the most “undecided” subgroups according to multiple polls

3. Having a concrete example to campaign on Biden ignoring inflation. Regardless of if it’s actually contributing to inflation, voters associate inflation with handing out free money.

4. Changing the subject of debate, and hoping the media keys in on the annoying Twitter libs that are complaining about wanting more (another thing I’ve heard even democrats be exasperated by)

Sorry bub, you're not gonna win this one. A large majority of those with student loans make <$80K a year. That IS the middle class. The only people actually upset about this are rich people.

Again, the middle class is very large, including tons of non-college graduates, and jealousy is a heck of a drug. I’m not saying it will hand the election to Masters, but it’s something he could use if phrased properly.  

The one pill we’ve gotten about this says that the debt forgiveness is pretty popular nationwide - including among non-college graduates.

Fair enough, the only thing I’d say to that is that there tends to be a huge gap in liberal priority theories and actual implementation. BBB and covid masking (in 2021 at least) were both issues that were super popular on paper but had little effect and a negative effect in reality. But we’ll see