Zach Galifianakis Warns Hollywood Endorsements Could Hurt Kamala Harris

[just444]

Zach Galifianakis Warns Hollywood Endorsements Could Hurt Kamala Harris: 'I Do Wish the DNC Would Step Back from the Celebrities a Little Bit' https://t.co/zCBi2LJbuQ
- Variety (@Variety) August 23, 2024

sourceAsked about the DNC at the “Only Murders in the Building” Season 4 premiere Zach Galifianakis was not all that happy with the celebs there

Comments

[nomoneyfun]

I think Democrats are failing to address the needs of poor and working-class people in the country, but the idea that centering celebrities is off-putting to rural voters is laughable. Donald Trump is the Republican candidate, he had zero political experience when he first ran for office, but earned the nomination the first time because of his celebrity. Clearly celebrity isn't that much of a problem!

[anderbobo]

i think a large issue is that the republicans have spent DECADES if not generations convincing the poor/uneducated/working class etc. that republicans are in it for them and evil democrats ruin everything and want to steal their children, etc. -- even though so many initiatives that benefit these people every day were democratic-born. so it isn't so much about messaging it is about deprogramming these people which is incredibly difficult to deprogram a person once they have baked in their beliefs.

We need to just hammer his out of control spending and the fact that only the richest of the rich got tax cuts, but again even those basic arguments may be too high level for a lot of the undereducated mass that makes up a large portion of MAGA.

[mad_hatter80]

it doesn't help that the GOP caters to the religious who are so far indoctrinated that its hard to wake them up.

[iznanassi]

and are gutting education such that people are losing the basic cognitive skill development to be able to critically think about anything really

[mad_hatter80]

they are definitely attacking public education in more ways than one.

[allmylines]

yup, not to mention the amount of 4chan/8chan indoctrination of young men and the spread of conspiracy theories in general (like about “rigged elections” or whatever). i feel like i have lost a lot of sleep wondering how to get through to at least SOME of those people.

[cheerspinkears]

Curious what you mean when you say Dems are failing to address needs of the poor and working class people. Even before the DNC (and especially during) I’ve heard Kamala and Walz talk about

•lowering prices on groceries
•capping housing costs
•finding ways to lower medication costs
•not allowing cuts to Social Security
•supporting workers’ unions

And we know Joe has been forgiving student loans (as much as possible, given the current climate).

What concerns do you think aren’t being addressed? I’m not being critical, I just wanna know.

*Edited for typo

[nomoneyfun]

My apologies that the language in my comment wasn't specific enough, but I think there is a difference between simply helping the poor and eliminating poverty. Democratic administrations do the former and not the latter. For example, Harris has reneged on a public option for healthcare, something she said she was in favor of during her previous presidential run but does not currently support. Lowering drug prices and forgiving medical debt is great but what are the plans to prevent healthcare from being so cost burdensome in the first place? Similarly, forgiving student loan debt is great, but nothing is being done to meaningfully lower the cost of attendance at public postsecondary institutions. Lowering prices on groceries and capping housing costs are great, but nothing is being done to punish and prevent corporations from price gouging and to dramatically increase the supply of public housing. Call me crazy, but it's not enough to help the poor, I want a party that will eliminate poverty.

[deerlike]

Exactly, systemic reform is what's necessary (in addition to the services mentioned) if we want to improve the average standard of life.

[dropdeadpirate]

This is exactly how I feel <3

[cheerspinkears]

I see what you mean and I agree with you. I would love her to run on and try and implement real progressive policies like the ones you mentioned. But we know she’s gotta do everything she can to court Republicans (🤢) if she’s gonna have a chance at winning the electoral vote, not just the popular one. And that means running on more centrist ideals. At the end of the day, all the campaign promises I mentioned above are things that would benefit myself and my family right now, and even though they don’t go far enough to truly fix those issues, any relief from the cost of groceries, childcare, student loans, etc. would be a godsend. I know it’s not the best most progressive answer, but it would make such a huge difference for me and for millions of others. You’re not wrong though.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the whole “Israel has the right to defend itself” line she keeps using makes me sick to my fucking stomach. I know why she’s doing it (again, Republicans) but it does break my heart.

[nomoneyfun]

IDK, I disagree that Kamala has to court Republicans. There is a large percentage of eligible voters that do not vote and there is even some evidence that those most likely to vote are Republicans who oppose redistributive social policies compared to non-voters. Democrats have largely abandoned progressive policies despite polls showing that people favor them. I come from a Black family of poor and working-class people, so many of the suggest proposals by the Harris/Walz ticket will also benefit us. But many of the issues these proposals are helping alleviate have been exacerbated under the Democratic Administrations, including the current one. Dems are helping us with one hand and hurting us with the other one. We will never get more from them unless we demand it and voting for the lesser of two evils means we're always dealing with evil

[kinokol]

I mean, Harris is in office now. She should be able to have some tangible policies as well as example of what she has helped move the needle on in the past 4 years. Her getting all gung-ho about military spending when we already outspend the next top 10 spenders on the planet COMBINED does not make me optimistic that we are going to see any major improvements or changes. This is also like the 7th president election cycle I’ve been cognizant of, I am cynical af that any establishment dem is going to anything life changing for the average American atp.

[nomoneyfun]

If Democrats really helped the poor and working-class, we wouldn't see rising levels of deep poverty in this country. While there are differences between the two parties on many social issues, the fact is the quality of life does not change for the better for a significant portion of Americans no matter who is in office.

[rihaty]

It’s because the Republicans have painted the image that Dems are the party of “Hollywood elite” regardless of whether it also applies to the GOP. Any celebs that support the GOP now are merely “anti-establishment” Hollywood. Like yes, it’s true that Republicans also rely on celebs and Trump is a celebrity so they’re hypocrites but it won’t undo the image certain voters have of the Democrats.

[nomoneyfun]

I understand what you're saying, it's just up to the Democratic Party to dispel this myth, which I don't think they have done effectively!