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Well I'll say that 110% of politics is pandering to certain demographics. That is not necessarily identity politics, which focuses on identity to the exclusion of general policy. Trump's strategy is to hit exactly the people who can swing the specific states that he needs to get over the electoral college threshold. There is nothing particularly novel about Biden committing to choosing a woman. That's not identity politics; the only difference between him choosing a woman and Trump choosing Pence is gender. There's a reason Trump chose a religious zealot - it is designed to sway the religious zealots (though I guess you can argue that Republicans have mastered the multi-identity coalition - see note below). Biden's casting a wider net because suburban women broke ranks with democrats last cycle and voted for Trump at a surprisingly high rate. Hell, I'd also argue that most far-left would think that Biden is too far removed from the world of identity politics. One of many reasons they hate him, but it is probably not a coincidence that Biden overwhelmingly crushed Sanders. Note: It's always struck me as interesting that the Republicans have managed to gather a few VERY INTENSE groups together that will consistently vote in concert. Evangelicals Gun owners Anti-regulation capitalists Each of these has their own "bugbear" - evangelicals hate gays, gun owners care only about owning guns, the capitalists care about removing regulations. There's no reason someone who wants to be able to pollute at his factory should care about gay rights or gun ownership, but it's striking how these all move in complete lockstep. The Democrats, meanwhile, are fantastic at eating their own and can't manage this nearly as well.

It's very striking that the people who think Uncle Joe has dementia are 1) Trump fans and 2) Bernie bros. I still haven't seen an actual diagnosis beyond you just not liking him. Joe Rogan is entertaining but also a colossal moron. He's truly a font of wisdom, as long as that wisdom is pseudoscience and anarcho-libertarianism. And I say that as someone with a soft spot for libertarians.

It's tough being the sexiest!