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A Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. We should stop pretending.
(www.washingtonpost.com)
this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2023
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politics
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Ah yes! Enlightened Centrist and Libertarians. They will always vote GOP no matter how horrible the candidate is with some shit reason to not vote Democrat. OR they will vote for some numbnuts third party candidate with an equally shitty reason.
The common talking points these days are either, "DeMoCrAtS aRe FaScIsTs, ToO!" or, "DeMoCrAtS nEeD tO eArN mY vOtE!"
And I'm sure the next generation will thank them for taking an ideological stand right as Fascism is trying to take over. /s
Special emphasis on "too", of course
problem is your thinking lead to us getting to this point in the first place. y'all should have learned candidate quality matters in 2016 and it's your fault if biden loses because he was your idea in the first place
Too many Democrats are to be sure. But not all democrats. Sanders and others have shown the way to fix this. The biggest issue is that we need younger people involved and running. In my state many Republicans run unopposed for several offices. As bad as it sounds. I would reflexively vote for any Democrat over a republican knowing nothing about either of the two.
We're already seeing the beginnings of that with various candidates, but I agree that we need it to happen more rapidly.
The issue, in a twist of capitalist fuckery, is that running a campaign is massively expensive, and the barrier to entry is often too high for the people who should be running for office. Thankfully, there's orgs helping with that, but it's still an uphill battle.
They can be. At the state and national level to be sure. But even with zero budget, running someone against a Republican vs letting a Republican run unopposed. We'll win infinitely more times just by trying. It should start with smaller offices. And work up from there.
Also, outside of presidential election years. We should donate to a group or groups that back and fund Democrat opposition to Republicans locally. Even if we have to make those groups ourselves. At the national level they've largely given up on many states. So donating to them often does little at home.
Democrats need a new younger bench. And this is a way to fix both the age and fash friendly issues at the same time. Perhaps then we can start to address things like getting money out of politics etc.
Forget running, they need to be voting.
Sanders lost both primaries due to Millenials and Zoomers being so allergic to turnout that they even turn their noses up at their own guy in the primary.
This is easy win territory for young voters, the gap between current performance and just matching their share of the general population alone would push the DNC significantly to the left, let alone if they started showing up with the easy dominating share they could take if they spent half the effort turning out for the cause that they do painting signs and tweeting about it.
primaries aren't free and fail elections, we saw fuckery in 2016 and 2020. why vote when the party leaders can legally rig it?
Rigging it by actually turning out for those instead of throwing a tantrum that the other voting blocks who don't agree with them didn't do the revolution for them?
The left's perennial problem, "well why didn't you fucking vote in (X previous election or primary) then?", every time they try to blame it on something else, it flows back to some other primary or general they also vote striked or protest voted in.
The narcissist's prayer is a fucking Mayan calendar style political prophecy to the white left and doing even the barest minimum in the way of political participation
Bernie had the primary win stolen from him alright, by on paper allies who have to be dragged kicking and screaming to do literally the first thing you should have to prove you did to be allowed to talk shit.
Every single one of you fuckers I see ranting about rigged primaries is just some flavor of Jean Paul Marat wannabe who fantasizes about being able to literally sit but naked in a bath tub all day and pass judgement upon the enemies of the revolution for everyone else to carry out for you.
We act like Democrats actually doing something to earn votes is impossible.
Not at all. But it sounds like you think they haven't done anything.
I think that Democrats appear very weak right now because they're not taking the drastic steps that are needed in order to fix a lot of the existential threats that America faces.
I truly believe that we cannot engage in capitalism as we are currently and still hold on to the planet in the face of global warming. And I don't see anyone in US politics or even global politics willing to make the drastic changes needed to literally save for the planet.
So no, I don't really think they're doing what they need to be doing right now, and it's disheartening.
indeed. weak "left" candidates leave the door open for fascism the world over. how the fuck do you tell people to "hold their noses" and expect that to work? like really, think about it for a minute. I'm mad because these idiots are ruining our country. a progressive candidate would both be a safer bet to win vs. trump and some reforms would sap fascism of it's power, yet we're stuck with candidates like clinton and biden for no good reason. disappointing if they win, and less likely to actually win
Centrist Democrats take the very idea as a greivously offensive blasphemy against all they hold dear.
Don't vote Democrat, vote third party I hear! Me, I'm like well with first past the post voting this is impractical and could help empower fascists to take over, but let's see what options we got.
/opens box of third party candidates, before gently closing it and walking away
Yeah no, Biden still best option, these guys are nutters. It makes sense though, a sensible candidate would run in the democratic primaries, rather than hurting their own purported causes by running in the general in a first past the post election. It's why you saw Bernie Sanders, an independent, running in the democratic primary, and not out there helping to siphon votes to fascists by running as a third party in the general against Biden.
Anyways, let's focus on continuing to empower politicians that want to improve our voting system (usually has been democrats, though with an exception in Alaska). This starts at the local level, but we're getting more and more federal offices now with ranked choice voting. Once you have that, then better quality third party candidates will follow, knowing they can fairly safely run without harming their own causes.
Biden can be the best option for you, and it can still be imperative that we vote third party. If you think the dems and repubs are ever going to give up FPTP, you're insane.
State ballot access is a big deal that can impact local elections as well.
I show up to vote against Brownback and in support of abortion. Then I vote against every incumbent and to fire all the judges.
Unfortunately, there are few leftists that push the same narrative, too. And all because Biden (or Obama, or Hillary) are not the pretty pony they think they were promised or something.
Point of fact: Clinton's centrists were so upset that they didn't get their very first choice in 2008 that they formed a PAC to try to get McCain/Palin elected. And they've been screaming "no matter who" ever since.
I have no special affinity for either of the Clintons. However, it cannot be denied that there is a certain type of leftist (often very loud, and probably the minority, thankfully) that behave like petulant children when they don't get their pretty pony, whoever that is.
Don't get me wrong - I'd like that pretty pony, too. I just realize that even if people don't love Hillary, she'd still be better than OJ (Orange Jesus) and so once the primaries are over, voting for donnie to really stick it to the man, or sit out, or vote for some completely unserious party like the Green Party is not really teaching anyone the lesson(s) that the people stamping their feet think they are.
OJ represents a very existential threat. Just because he flubbed the RW agenda the first time around doesn't mean he won't succeed in destroying America if given another chance.
The only thing you want is unquestioning worship of the party from everyone to your left.
LOL, I only vote for them because I have to. What is the realistic alternative? Unless we have something like ranked choice, voting for Green or staying home or writing something in is just a vote for Republicans.
And you only choose to constantly belittle anyone who isn't 100 percent ecstatic with everything the party does because you want to.
So, I'm constantly belittling myself? I am not 100% ecstatic with the Democratic Party and never have been. Thing is, I recognize what an existential threat the Republican Party has become. In the general, the choice is you either support the Democratic Party (warts and all) or you are essentially supporting this threat to the country.
I wish it were otherwise, but wishing won't make that so.
You prefer ridicule to understanding, even when understanding stands a a chance of getting back lost votes. Ridicule does nothing to help you.
I wasn't aware I was running someone's campaign. I think it's perfectly reasonable to question what kind of motives people have if they don't get behind the Democratic Party in the face of a very radicalized Republican Party that will apparently cast aside all democracy in their will to power. And who have members in their base that constantly talk about civil war and murdering other citizens.
Primaries? Sure, of course. During the general, though? There are only going to be two actual choices.