One side is working to dismantle democracy. The other side is not. If you don't vote blue you are enabling Republicans to enact Project 2025. You would enable Republicans to take away rights from LGBT people in America. You would enable abortion bans and enable even more of the genocide in Gaza. You would enable Republicans to do all the types of stuff listed in the meme, and they will try.
I am convinced some of the far left that won't vote for Biden because of the war in Gaza are being influenced by Republicans. I wouldn't be surprised if some of those people are Republicans trying to get people not to vote for Biden. It may not be an ideal situation, but if you don't vote for Biden because you think he is handling the war in Gaza horribly, you are doing exactly what the Republicans want you to do. Maybe someday we'll be able to vote for someone better than him. But for now, you have to understand the reality of our two party system, and deal with it. At the very least, don't do what the Republicans would want you to do: staying home rather than going out and voting for Biden
Republicans now know they can elect a functional fascist if he has a little popular support. Democratic institutions may not be lucky enough to hold again.
They support candidates in the other party that do attempts coups, just so voters are forced to vote for them instead of the other party.
Hilary's support for Trump in the primaries, should be seen as threat of violence towards the voters and seen as fascism.
All the problems with Trump are problems that Democrates are to blame. They are not responsible for other Republicans maybe, but they are responsible for Trump. Trump is a Democrate candidate in the Republican party.
Bullshit. Democrats have made their disdain for democracy absolutely clear by preventing other candidates from even getting on the ballot in the primaries. I'm not defending Trump, but if Biden loses, he has only himself and the other ghouls in the
Democratic party to blame. You can't run on protecting democracy while simultaneously sabotaging it.
It's not on the voters to hold their noses and vote for someone who should probably be in a nursing home and very likely won't live long enough to finish his second term. It's on the Democratic party to allow candidates people want to vote for to participate. All this blaming of voters for wanting to sit this one out or vote third party is just so much bootlicking of the establishment.
One side is working to dismantle democracy. The other side is not.
WHAT DEMOCRACY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
The one that enables your country to fund a genocide across the globe DESPITE the outrage of it's citizens and the... WHOLE WORLD?
You would enable Republicans to take away rights from LGBT people in America. You would enable abortion bans and enable even more of the genocide in Gaza.
How you can enable MORE genocide? People are finite, you either commit genocide, or you don't. Or you think with your tiny fucking libbrain that SMALL GENOCIDE is totally okay?
But for now, you have to understand the reality of our two party system, and deal with it.
Yeah, sure, do not try to change anything, just deal with our shitty system because there's no other option. Jesus fucking Christ...
The electoral Congress decides who's president, though. Why shouldn't I as a far-leftist vote third party to express my discontentment with a democratic party that only wants to appeal to the right? I'm tired of people telling me Biden is good enough when we had a actual progressive who had a shot just a few years ago. The climate can't wait, and the Palestinian people certainly can't. A placid, centrist left in the face of fascism looks useless to me I'm not sorry. Read a fucking history book.
People often say that voting third party is throwing away your vote, but using your vote as a protest like you describe is perfectly valid. Politicians from the major parties do care about how they can appeal to swingable voters, and third parties getting more votes does makes them more influential for future policy. You give up having influence between the two people who actually have a chance in the current election, but realistically you didn't in the first place if you don't live in a battleground state.
It's your vote. Don't let other people chide you for not spending it on what they think you should. Just use it for a cause that's worthwhile to you. It's the people who don't vote at all that get ignored.
Fuck I needed to hear that, thanks. I just believe a lot of Biden voters are relentlessly optimistic and more than a little naive- there's a lot of propaganda afoot lately but I think it's important to talk about my choice too. Obviously we need things like ranked-choice voting for third party votes in this country to make a real difference ASAP but IIRC if a party's candidate gets even 5% of the vote in a election they qualify for some federal funding. I don't think it's impossible to fight for better representation and win in the long run that way.
If you live in a state that’s not contested, sure vote third party if that makes you feel better. But the reality is that not voting blue in any purple state does benefit the party you are less aligned with. So in the case of a leftist it would benefit republicans. I also would love an alternative to a two party system but in THIS election a vote that benefits republicans is a vote for a 1 party system.
It will continue to be that way in every election as long as people resign themselves to voting for either party that has no intention of ever giving you a "fix" to the two party system. Why would a Democrat or a Republican want to get a third party elected? Makes 0 sense. Let's say you vote for a Democrat... How does that then incentivize them to do anything differently than how they're already doing it? Your voting for them is tacit approval of their current agenda and party machinations. If they don't lose or get challenged by something further to the left, they will never move left. They will continue to pander towards centerist voters. Since our Overton window is already right of center with the Democrats basically being center-right and the Republicans being further right, they will only move rightwards with this strategy. They only pander towards centrists because the centrist vote isn't guaranteed. So in order for them to move leftward, they need to see that the left voter is not a guaranteed vote. The only way to do that at the ballot box is by voting for someone further to the left than the Democratic party. Yes that might mean that Democrats start to lose, but if they do it's their own damn fault for not appealing to the leftist voter.
You had an actual progressive years ago...yes. You don't have one this year.
You say the climate can't wait...so which path is better:
1 - push for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, invest $2T in green tech and infrastructure, OR
2 - boost oil and gas production, roll back environmental regulations
Palestine can't wait...which path is better:
1 - publicly support Israel while pressuring them to limit civilian casualties, work towards a cease fire OR
2 - sending ICE to break up pro-Palestinian protests in the US to remove any protesters here illegally, implement ideological screening as part of the immigration process, stoke anti-muslim sentiment here and abroad.
Read a fucking history book? The Repub is using the same power-consolidation strategy as Hitler, there's Nazis chilling at cpac, LGBTQ folks are being targeted by Republicans across the country, burning books, politicians changing the contents of history curriculum...they say history doesn't repeat itself but it sure does rhyme. Well, this is straight-up plagiarism.
Yes because there are two paths, only two. Revolution is never a option and we should eat ALLLLL the shit they feed us, thankful for scraps as the fires burn more and more intense. 2050? Do you hear yourself? The damage is already irreparable, that's far too late. We need action now and a president who hasn't sold their soul to oil, if such a thing could ever possibly exist. I AM lgbt (trans) and IMHO this is a problem because he's looking out for conservative billionaires instead. I tell you to look at the history because I agree, the Republicans are Nazis... And a centrist left conceded power to them or had it stolen then too.
I'm not calling for a violent revolution because I've been to a war zone before, and I don't want that here. That's the only 3rd path I see for this election cycle. My daughter is also LGBTQIA so it's personal for me too.
Does there have to be one for joe biden to be bad? I'm sure there's a least a million individual people who could do the job better. At the end of the day I just don't see any reason to defend the guy, he seemingly has no real passion or empathy and is leaving a lot in this country undone or worse for the wear whilst letting the right fearmonger incessantly
I mean, there has to be a President...and it's nearly a statistical guarantee that it will be Trump or Biden unless one of them dies before November. So no, there doesn't have to be a good candidate for Biden to be a bad one...but he's the best option we have this time around. Like, if I had 2 options for a house for my kids to live in and 1 is rundown shithole and has lead paint and a busted up foundation and the other a cardboard box under an overpass I'll take the lead paint while I work for something better...every time.
Ok...since my analogy is so spot on. Where do your kids live in that scenario while you get back on your feet? In the box outside or the old house with lead paint?
Well I decided when I was like ten that this world is faaaaar too fucked up to bring children into so I can't relate there but going to bat for career politicians online isn't gonna make things any better. Biden has even called himself a capitalist before- I truly believe in my tired heart he's standing in the way of progress a great deal more than he's championing it. I don't waste my time typing out a response here just for fun.
I tell you to look at the history because I agree, the Republicans are Nazis… And a centrist left conceded power to them or had it stolen then too.
This is precisely why you should vote for Democrats. The Nazi rise to power is a cautionary tale of what happens when both liberals and leftists don't take the fascist threat seriously. They'll play off the fascists to try and get one over the other -- you've pointed this out with the centrist left already, and how they gave him power. But it's also important to recognize that the leftists weren't terribly concerned either. "After Hitler, us!". They foolishly thought the fascists would let there be an "after" and resigned themselves.
There is only one path forward, and I like to explain it in terms of LotR. The dwarves and elves may dislike each other and sometimes be on the verge of war, but as soon as the orcs appear, they work together as one. The fascists warrant our full attention and scorn. We can never make the same mistake of the Germans to let animosity among those left of center take priority over stomping out fascists.
You're wasting your time, I already laid out why. Biden is Saruman, dude, that's my take. I hope I'm wrong, but I think you'll all feel real foolish for defending this guy someday. I hate fascists and that's why I can't settle for Biden; IMHO he's not anti-fascist or progressive enough to put up a good fight. Especially as a individual, thank gods he has some good people on staff but I still look at Biden and think the dude couldn't manage a pretend waffle house, let alone a country. And his track record as senator constantly gets swept under the rug, too. He voted for segragation ffs
Voting for a third party with no chance of winning takes away a vote from the candidate from the 2 major parties who more closely represents you.
You're not just doing a protest. If you believe in left values, you're making it one vote harder for the left to win and one vote easier for the right.
Would you rather the opposition win and we lose democracy or more rights so you can prove your point?
They're realistically though the closest thing we have. They absolutely do less damage when in office. If you actually want things to get better. We have to stop doing damage or at least slow down the damage first. It's basic logic.
he wrote the usa patriot act and the crime bill. he stopped student debt from being discharged in bankruptcy. bill clinton pushed "welfare reform". obama destroyed habeas corpus, murdering a us citizen without trial. kids-in-cages is an obama era policy. obama signed taarp.
I believe that you believe that. But I also know that your belief in that doesn't make it true. Whether or not one approves of Obama's actions with drones overseas. Which for the record I don't. He didn't end habeas corpus. You are being hyperbolic and disingenuous. Despite my disproval of it. It was a one-time thing with some fairly decent justification behind it. That hasn't led to any actual policy changes that could be pointed out.
The Patriot Act per Wikipedia
The Patriot Act was written by Jim Sensenbrenner.
Completely unsurprising. You're lying again. To be fair Biden did claim credit. Stupid liberal doin stupid liberal things.
As far as TARP was concerned. Was there anything they could have realistically done that you would have approved of? No? Then why should we care what you think. Yes, tarp was a bit of a crock of shit. But unfortunately it was the best we were going to get and it was a good thing that we did get it ultimately.
As far as blocking student loan debt from being expunged with bankruptcy. Yes, stupid liberal doing stupid liberal things. However, Biden is also been one of the most active pushing for forgiveness of student loan debt. Could you be any more fake or disingenuous?
everything they said was right. your accusation of disengenuity is itself bad faith. just because you don't believe somebody could be to the left of Joe Biden and Barack Obama and Bill Clinton doesn't make you right.
I pointed out that he claimed that. Seems you missed that part. Well if you were being genuine. But I don't mistake you for being genuine. It isn't recorded anywhere that I could find that he wrote it. Joe, Biden claiming that he did only means that he claims that he did. It doesn't mean that he did.
Not at all. I'm simply pointing out the facts as recorded. Joe Biden made a claim. There is no record showing his claim to be true. Bad faith engagement is claiming that something is true without proof. Which you don't actually have.
I do think it's possible that Biden may have had some input on the bill. But the fact remains that you all are absolutely arguing in bad faith. Misrepresenting the facts and evidence available.
I've about given up. It seems as though most of lemmy is more than happy to smugly let the perfect destroy the good.
I'm sure the additional dead kids in Palestine and Ukraine and very likely most of the middle east and Europe or Russia (depending on how NATO fares after the US leaves) will thank them for voting for RFK Jr or Jill Stein or Mickey Mouse. I don't think my daughter will thank them when she gets sent to federally mandated "don't be gay" camp or has to hide who she is for the rest of her life but hey, at least we made a point. Just like vaccines, sometimes I guess we have to suffer as a species to remember things.
You have to remember a lot of the people posting that bs likely aren't Americans and either have an anti western agenda or are being paid to post divisive shit. It's annoying because Lemmy is such a small community that these accounts appear wayyyyy more than they really should, so it gives the impression that there's loads of them, but really they are a minority. Chances are they also have a bunch of smurf accounts so it could literally just be one room of guys posting mountains of bullshit every day.
Or there are lots of genuine American leftists in this space like me that believe the things they're saying and are trying to argue for a better world or a solution. And then they get met with comments that tell them they're likely not Americans or they're anti-West or that they're getting paid to shill. How do I know you're not getting paid to post what you said? How do I know you're not some pro-Democrat smurf account run by some party staffer? But instead of asking, what if I made a comment that just said you probably were?
"anti-west" ... i mean... where is marx from? proudhon? bakhunin? foucault?
anti-west is a reactionary dogwhistle for "commie scum". it's red scare bullshit.
and anyone who uses the term uniroically now is an actual white nationalist, a paid cia shill, or someone who has bought into the rhetoric of one of the first two, with or without realizing it.
and you know what, i love that you went on the attack here. this is the lesson i learned in 2016: we live in a post-truth world, no one will believe anything except what they want to believe, so there is no point in defending a position. don't apologize. don't backpedal. attack, attack, attack.
Liberals aren't left. I like this take by Phil Ochs
"In every American community, you have varying shades of political opinion. One of the shadiest of these is the liberals. An outspoken group on many subjects. Ten degrees to the left of center in good times, ten degrees to the right of center if it affects them personally.
the democrats are fundamentally closer to republicans in status and solidarity than they are to most working class americans that they claim to represent.
its not irrelevant. no war but class war. the people that fight and die in war are not the aristocrats and politicians that start them. biden is our enemy as much as trump is
I think Ukrainians and Palestinians would disagree with the notion that "there is no war but class war". A good salary, food security, and affordable healthcare do not cure racism and fascism.
the difference between ukraine and palestine is that the US and the west have a vested capital interest in ukraine. there is no capital investment in palestine. there is in israel. new yorks state employee pension along with texas's is secured in israeli bonds. follow the money.
palestinians don't even have any sort of internationally recognized statehood. they have no sovereignty over themselves. this is about class. i personally don't have a vested interest in ukraine. but the capitalist ruling class here does. the ukrainian people are victims as much as the palestinians are victims of fascism and racism just as much as the palestinians are but the main difference is that one has the united states backing it along with the entire capitalist class corporate infrastructure. the palestinians don't have that.
and who fights the wars? the rich? nope. the poor, who have nothing to offer as means except their bodies, labor and life. there is solidarity at the top, even amongst geopolitics. i mean they all gather in the same room together and act polite and do pleasantries while we have to grit and bear it in the virtual and physical hellscapes they create.
considering AIPAC buys democrats and blackmails up and coming progressives I'd say that the democrats are pretty fascist themselves because AIPAC is a zionist organization furthering the zionist colonial project. our choices are fascism or sugar coated fascism. im not choosing either, thanks.
Your choices are between a rapid decline to christofascism or the continued slow decline to neoliberal fascism.
Voting in the presidential election is but one of the many political actions you can take, and while it can no longer be used to affect positive change, it can still be used for harm reduction.
I'll buy time to prepare and fight in other ways by choosing the slow option, thanks.
Edit: I'll add that your inability to see how things could get worse than they have been under Biden is an egregious failure of imagination on your part. You think we're at rock bottom? That things can't possibly get worse more quickly than they already are? You are very sorely mistaken. If Trump is elected a second time and he follows through on his promise of revenge against his political enemies, are you going to think "would've happened anyway if we elected Biden instead"?
ok would you tell a palestinian american to vote for biden? knowing full well that they have seen live streamed footage of their family being murdered and this administration shrugging their shoulders about it? vote a man that has said that he is a zionist? vote for a party that is bought by an organization that wants to eliminate palestinians?
would you tell them that their refusal to vote is stupid and foolish? that they are part of the problem and shill?
like i have said before... this is getting so much discussion and the democrats are all coming out to say "hey all, um you need to vote for us, like its real serious"
if its so serious they shouldn't have fucked around while they had the chance to do shit. if they are so serious, take this as a real threat to your power and fucking do something. ceasefire now! trans rights now! housing reform now! land back now!
Yes, I would and I have. I agree with you about the inaction and complicity of the Democratic party. I want a ceasefire now! I want trans rights now! I want housing reform now! I want land back now!
You will get none of those things by voting, nor will you get them by abstaining. What I have told Palestinian Americans before and what I would tell them again is if Trump comes to power, not only will the genocide not stop, but things will get worse, both here and over there.
I cant even afford IVF so its not possible for me at all.
Make sure test tube babies are ok but babies already born in gaza dying can be sacrificed. Gotchu
they may be different on the surface but they both get in my dm's and grovel for money that i don't have. they both have the same message at this point: "our country is at stake, give me money so we can stop the other one from making it worse." when they both have more money than i could dream of. then they both squander that money on frivolous shit, policing and war. they are exactly the same in the ways that really matter. class and hierarchy.
they are colleagues with each other. we are just the public that they have to win over. they have solidarity amongst themselves but balk at worker solidarity. they both lobby against labor. they both make money from exploitative practices. they don't have any commonalities with the people they say they represent.
When he said he's the most pro-union president ever, he was right. But he's still a capitalist so it doesn't mean shit. A pro-union capitalist will still let corporations get away with negligent homicide.
the residents of east palestine are all sick and have been getting worse since the event and the subsequent controlled burn off of the chemicals. there are still checmicals in the water but the EPA says its fine. norfolk southern says its fine. the east palestinians are getting sicker and sicker by the day and not getting nearly enough attention.
I don't disagree with the intended meaning of any of this
However, it would be more effective with increased clarity if the text were revised to state that he "Didn't expand the Supreme Court beyond nine, and did not appoint those additional new justices" or even simply "Did not increase the size of the Supreme Court" or something like that. Because he did appoint Kentanji Brown Jackson to SCOTUS, and people will point that out under your current writing of it which will derail discussion of the actual points. Revising the text will foreclose the possibility of that derailment
How is it that republicans are so much more effective than democrats? Before you use the tired excuse of "it's easier to break things than to make things" tell me why biden can't break this support of genocide.
Eight years of Obama plus four years of Biden resulted in mediocrity at best, whereas only four years of Trump resulted in teetering on the edge of full-blown fascism.
as far as the border goes, theres no excuse for continuing trump era immigration policy that was, oh shit, already in place before even trump took office. dems don't care about the migrants affected by climate change that US actions have caused. kamala literally got on a microphone telling migrants to "not come to america"
I mean this is the party saying they are gonna save us from fascism but we gotta make sure we vote. democrats like to say that they are everything the republicans aren't. maybe they aren't certain things but they are still classist as fuck and would let us die before their colleagues in DC do. maybe they want to keep trumps border policy cause of the growing republican latinx community which is in part due to inaction from the democrats fumbling over themselves and failing to make any meaningful change
One side is working to dismantle democracy. The other side is not.
Both "sides" don't give a fuck about people or democracy, both the red and blue party support dictatorships around the world, genocide and unjust wars. If you vote red or blue you are giving your vote to corrupted criminal murderers with blood on their hands.
If i don't support Stalin in WWII it does not mean that i'm supporting Hitler, the choice is yours! Not voting for red or blue does NOT mean voting for the other color.
If we're willing to condone genocide by an ally then we're willing to condone one here. And the reason it's called veiled is because they have the same goals, they're just shy about saying it out loud.
You do realize how responsibility works? Because down your illogical rabbit hole lies this future statement, "If Biden isn't personally shooting them is he really responsible for the genocide?"
The answer to your question lies in the madness of de facto versus de jure. De Facto, we are and this is why the Houthis are going after our ships. Just like the Germans did in both world wars. De Jure, there is no war in Ba Sing Se.
I've got news for you, aiding and abaiting genocide is also a crime. And in fact member states of the UN have an obligation to pursue the enforcement of the prohibition of genocide. The mere vetos of the US on UN resolutions for cease fire should be enough. We won't even talk about the weapons trade.
The far left isn't voting because electoral politics are a distraction from actual revolutionary action. While y'all are too busy choosing the lesser evil that will eventually "compromise" with the worse evil because "we need a strong republican party" the far left is taking more direct approaches.
What a load of self righteous nonsense. Even if anyone believed you, it takes a couple hours out of a day to vote at absolute maximum. I think the revolution can spare that, no?
Yeah voting is something that happens, at most, twice a year - with primaries and the general. So a total of 2 hours a year is really a immaterial use of time and effort
Every few months if you participate in local elections. WHICH YOU SHOULD. Revolution should always be the last resort. But so many long for revolution but can't be bothered to actually participate in local and national elections.
You don't understand, I'm doing my part by posting "1 like = 1 bullet for the revolution" every week on my socialist Facebook groups, what about you, liberal scum???
staying home rather than going out and voting for Biden
I'm not going to stay home. I'm going to go to the polling place and leave that part empty on the ballot.
Here's the bottom line: I cannot bring myself to officially support someone who I admit is an active supporter of genocide. Listen to yourselves. You are literally saying that I should feel bad because I won't support someone who is actively supporting genocide. They are carpet bombing children, intentionally starving them, denying them medical care, all because of their ethnicity. He is expediting military aid to make sure they can.
I wouldn't vote for Hitler just because I believed his opponent was worse. The reason I wouldn't vote for Hitler is because of the genocide. I have to draw a line somewhere. If anything, I should probably have drawn it somewhere before genocide.
BTW, I'm not saying you're a bad person if you do vote for Biden, or even that I'm somehow better for not. I get it. I just can't bring myself to do it.
[Edit: Americans, if you're thinking of replying to me, consider instead or additionally going to Ceasefire Now and writing to your representatives. Maybe if there's an end to the genocide before November I'll be willing to vote for Biden.]
If you simply look at the numbers, you will see that if for example trump gets 10 votes and biden gets 8. The people who have not voted for either one in this scenario are enabling Trump to win. This is only relevant in swing states though
I hope you gain the knowledge to see the bigger picture before November. Allowing Trump to win guarantees that the genocide continues and even grows. Biden, at least, is reasonable and not bloodthirsty. Work with the system so that you can change it. Because the alternative is to burn us all down for your own hubris and lack of awareness.
Allowing Trump to win guarantees that the genocide continues and even grows.
Allowing Biden to win guarantees that the genocide continues and even grows.
Biden, at least, is reasonable and not bloodthirsty.
"Reasonable and not bloodthirsty": expediting military aid to help the slaughter of children.
Work with the system so that you can change it.
Nothing I am doing is outside the system, and voting for Biden won't help change the system.
I hope you gain the knowledge to see the bigger picture before November... Because the alternative is to burn us all down for your own hubris and lack of awareness.
Hubris is thinking that because other people disagree with you they must be ignorant and lack awareness. Hubris is thinking that if other people act differently from you, we will all burn down.
Just a heads up that site picked the wrong district for me. The actual house site understands my zip is split between two districts (based on county lines) but this site picked the wrong one.
so, out of curiosity, what has biden accomplished (or any one, really,) done to stop any of that?
so far, the only thing he's successfully achieved is... increasing the DoJ's focus on domestic terrorism. which, is something, I guess.
After three years of this shit getting worse; why should we believe Biden is able to actually stop it and protect our democracy? it took him two and half, or so, years for him to get the DoJ to assign Jack Smith to investigate trump for Jan 6, and documents, and stuff.
Under Biden we have student load forgiveness, we have a better ftc that actually investigates shit, we had an actual climate deal, and we have support for Ukraine, and have an investigation on trump. With trump we have none of that. We get total facism.
Also voting and protest/revolt are not mutually exclusive. At least under Biden we might not have to become a full on fascist state in the next year.
Under Biden we have student load forgiveness, we have a better ftc that actually investigates shit, we had an actual climate deal, and we have support for Ukraine, and have an investigation on trump. With trump we have none of that. We get total facism.
Most of the Climate deals are corporate subsidies for things they were going to do anyhow... eventually.
As good as the student debt forgiveness is... all of those loans that are being forgiven are loans that should have been forgiven ages ago. There's zero fraud investigation on that. just a "oops. we let you get scammed for years." (sometimes even decades.). Not exactly a brilliant dipslay of ... governance.
Right now we don't even have support for ukraine. so much for that much-vaunted bipartisanship that was one of his key sales pitches.
Also voting and protest/revolt are not mutually exclusive. At least under Biden we might not have to become a full on fascist state in the next year.
you do realize that prevailing rhetoric right now is "Don't protest Biden now.... let him win the election first!", right? which is why I'm being down voted when I call Gaza Genocide.
I don't think Biden can protect american democracy. I don't think he has that ability.
So, he's done nothing to actually protect american democracy. The argument being made by the OC is that he's protecting American democracy. Where's that?
your source is mostly about stuff that Biden has fuck all to do with (crime is state and local; Economics, fed and treasury;) and the stuff he does... he's not done all that much (immigration?) or has gone the wrong way (oil)