While rebutting another post here on Lemmy, I ran into this. This says exactly what I want to say.

I am not a friend of Biden’s Administration. I think they drug their feet over a variety of things ranging from holding Trump and his goons accountable for January 6th through rulemaking on issues like OTC Birth Control and abortion rights, and yes, I think he’s too quick to please big business. But then I remember what the alternative is, and … well, disappointed in Biden or not, I’m voting for him. Because my wife is a Black bisexual goth woman, four strikes under Team Pepe’s tent. And I have my own strikes for marrying her as a White dude, and respecting her right to not have kids since she doesn’t want them is another strike against me. And I care about my Non-Christian, Gay, Transgender, and Minority friends, and will never willingly subject them to Team Pepe.

    • CileTheSane@lemmy.ca
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      6 months ago

      Biden is also better than being boiled alive that doesn’t mean I am voting for him

      If “Everyone gets boiled alive” was on the ballot and had the tiniest chance of passing, you would be an idiot to not vote.

        • CileTheSane@lemmy.ca
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          6 months ago

          Not choosing doesn’t make you any less of a slave. You would be an idiot not to vote.

          Not voting makes you indistinguishable from the people who don’t care. If you don’t like the system you still do the one thing you can do on voting day and at least vote, then the other 1460 days between voting days you do something to improve the system.

  • Monument@lemmy.sdf.org
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    6 months ago

    And the Democratic Party needs to pull its head out of its ass and embrace its base, rather than smugly scheme in ways that are ruining lives.

    I have no problem with Biden’s job as president. In fact, I got into a big argument with someone a few weeks ago because they keep parroting anti-Biden propaganda from astroturfed pro-Palestine social media groups.
    Biden has been doing a great job for the most part, on a number of fronts.

    But I’m sort of bittersweet on that, because the harder I look, the more I see the illusion of choice, and an intentional effort to barely keep up with the will of the people.

    2016, Bernie vs Clinton. He had the votes, but the party pulled some superdelegate shenanigans to give it to Clinton. And with the same confidence of someone who had just been handed a layup in the primary, she managed to smugly fumble the presidency by a tiny margin.
    Post 2020 - Democrats had a majority, and instead of doing things the populous wanted, they wrung their hands about two candidates the Democratic Party had helped elect - Sinema and Manchin - and whether or not they were going to block bills.
    The other day I did a deep dive into Elissa Slotkin - a candidate so unlikeable she had to move to a much more certain democratic district when districts were redrawn. When the senate seat came up, the Democratic Party cut deals with more liberal candidates who are vastly more likable, to get them to not run in the primary. So now Michigan is going to wind up with an unwanted centrist that used to be an ‘analyst’ for the CIA during the Iraq war. She’s going to pretend to be a democrat while being the same sort of heel the Sinema or Manchin was.

    That’s just the people. In their post 2020-majority they could have done so much legislatively that they didn’t even bother considering - like campaign finance reform or expanding the courts, or even changing the rules around judicial nominees to prevent future shenanigans, but that would impact their bottom line or their ability to inspire panic at election-time. They could have strengthened the ACA, but that hurts some of the corporations that donate to them. Or do things to help people so that their rights wouldn’t be at risk - like codifying Roe, instead of allowing it to continue to be a wedge issue that destroys lives, but gets people to vote.

    The Democratic (and Republican) Party is playing us all.
    I’m not disaffected with Biden. I’m disaffected with a political party that nakedly fucks around to preserve the status quo, rather than embracing their base and winning with an encouraged and engaged populous. They lack the mandate to lead because they only desire to govern. (In contrast to the Republicans which lack the mandate to lead, are unable to govern, and only desire power and to abuse the government for personal gain.)

    So go ahead, give me the downvotes.
    This wouldn’t be an issue if we had ranked choice and a coalition government instead of this ‘winner take all’ nonsense that just incentivizes entrenchment rather than inspiration. But, you know, that doesn’t help the businesses that are political parties, so they ain’t gonna vote on it.

    • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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      6 months ago

      You make valid points and we ultimately agree that we should change our voting system. But that happens from the ground up, voting for a third party in the presidential election does nothing.

      What are they going to do? “Oh no, people are unhappy with the two parties…well we better dilute our power and give them ranked voting.”

      Never going to happen. But you can work locally to get the changes and encourage that elsewhere. Voting third party is worse than slacktavism, as it’s both pointless and counter productive.

      Don’t try to play the game you want to be playing, play the one you’re currently playing.

      • Monument@lemmy.sdf.org
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        5 months ago

        Circling back - I initially did not respond because I thought that my response would be caustic and catty.

        It seemed that the first two paragraphs you wrote were in response to me, but the rest were just the same canned responses that get shared with everyone who throws out a ‘voting is pointless’ message. And that’s not really my stance, or my comment. It kind of upset me, so I felt that I couldn’t have responded politely at the time.
        It is a reasonable conclusion to draw from my statements, but I don’t believe people should refrain from voting. I just believe political parties should deliver on their promises, and if they don’t deliver, then they should stop making those promises, or make way for parties that do.

        What are they going to do? “Oh no, people are unhappy with the two parties…well we better dilute our power and give them ranked voting.”

        Yes.
        It’s not ‘the norm’ as far as beliefs go, but I do kind of think that should be exactly what they do. They are here to lead and govern. That is what public service is. It is service to the public.
        If they behave in protectionist ways for the sake of their party’s over the public interest, then they lack the mandate to represent the public.
        Leadership is sometimes sacrificing the power of your party for the good of the people. But that’s also irrelevant as an argument. If democrats represent the ideals they claim to represent, then next time they have a trifecta, they should move towards expanding democracy at a federal level, rather than leaving it to states. Leaving it at the state level guarantees the sort of gridlock that holds back local organizing - only certain kinds of ballot initiatives are even seriously considered at a state level because it’ll harm that state’s power on the national stage. In terms of ideology, more U.S. citizens align with democrats than republicans (but huge numbers of left leaning folks don’t vote due to lack of representation). Their political aims would see more progress with a better represented (and presumably more engaged) populous in a coalition government where their ideas can enjoy broader support.
        But they don’t run on ideas or by providing better governance. They’re a business that relies on laws and marketing campaigns to succeed in a given ‘business cycle.’

        • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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          5 months ago

          Yes.

          You missed the point: It is a rhetorical question. Of course they aren’t going to do that. It’s not how it works. These people got into power that way, and there is no way in a representative democracy that you are going to get enough of the reps who gained the power a certain way to give up that way. You are arguing what they should do, and I agree with you. But the problem is that focusing on that is just blind idealism. I’m pointing out the dirty reality of how politics works.

          And this assault on “well washington democrats aren’t idealistic do-gooders!” is just a counter productive position (unless you want Reps to win instead). They are humans who have human faults, and primarily made up of people who have sought out the power, so a lot of those faults are going to be amplified.

          But that’s the game we have right now. Ranked choice is great, but it ain’t going to come from people wringing their hands over “Well, washington democrats with their slim majority weren’t able to force through sweeping changes that some of their members don’t even agree with!” It’s going to come from getting your hands dirty locally.

          It’s super easy to be like “I don’t like either party.” Good for you. I’ve known plenty of edgy 14 year olds who have been able to “reason” themselves to this same conclusion. But nothing you propose is realistic or will solve it.

    • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      In their post 2020-majority they could have done so much legislatively that they didn’t even bother considering - like campaign finance reform or expanding the courts, or even changing the rules around judicial nominees to prevent future shenanigans, but that would impact their bottom line or their ability to inspire panic at election-time.

      This conspiracy theory is so weird.

      How exactly are legislative Democrats supposed to accomplish these things when their bare-bones Senate majority depends on Manchin and Sinema? I mean really, specifically, how are they supposed to get things done?

      Y’all are always like “they should do more” but you won’t give them the numbers to do it. In a 60/40 Senate we can make wonderful things happen, but you just won’t give it to us.

      • ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works
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        6 months ago

        When the Democratic Party did have a 60-40 in 2009 they did not act. Where they did they self imposed compromises with the GOP or simply didn’t pass legislation they ran on. For example: codifying Roe v Wade with Freedom of Choice Act went from Obama’s alleged first sct in office to “not a top priority.” Then they got annihilated in 2010.

        We know from precedent that when Democrats are elected there is no indication they will even promote what they or the party ran on.

        Recent example: John Fetterman. Ran as a progressive, immediately said he wasn’t progressive once in office and now pushing for right wing immigration laws.

        Republicans get what they vote for. Democrats do not. Which is why these threads are so ignorant and frustrsting to read.

        • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          They had a 60-40 majority for only a few months, and they passed a massive expansion of healthcare that has saved thousands of lives and lifted countless people out of poverty. And that’s after Republicans gutted it by killing the individual mandate.

          these threads are so ignorant and frustrsting to read.

          At least we agree on one thing. But you’re the one spreading the ignorance.

          • ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works
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            6 months ago

            The ACA is the self compromising I was referencing. I thought that was clear, so I apologize for your feeling so provoked by my lack of explicitly referencing it.

  • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Democratic strategists, liberal pundits are making a living off doubting President Joe Biden’s viability in the 2024 presidential election. Why?

    Because they need it to be a horse race to get keep people’s attention. They write those things because they get clicks and views and comments.

    Notice how they’re not writing about how our system is failing everyone by being this way. That’s because they like the system this way because it keeps them on top.

    • TheHiddenCatboy@lemmy.worldOP
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      6 months ago

      If you think the system is failing us now, you must have been asleep from 2017 through 2020, especially for the part where unmarked, literally secret as in unknown, police came in and abducted people protesting the murder of a Black dude, and beat the shit out of them before releasing them. The system REALLY failed us then.

      I get it. You think the Democrats don’t represent your issues in the Congress. I don’t agree with that, as a good half of the achievements listed here benefit the little guy in one way or another, but yeah. Biden answers to the moneyed class, and that is bipartisan. But you only get 26 out of 100 people in the room to flat out come out and say “Yeah, I’m with that guy,” pointing to you. In the polls, you might net another 25 people, and 49 people vote for the R in this accursed D and R duopoly we call our government. But pay attention to those numbers. You can’t afford to lose a lot of people. If Jill Stein picks off 3 of your 51 people, it’s 49 Trump, 48 Biden, 3 Stein, and all 51 of the anti-Trump voters suffer with Trump. Those are the rules the game is played by.

      As I said to the other person arguing that it’s wrong to expect people to vote for people who don’t give them exactly what they want, I agree. We need better choices. But there are smart ways to go about doing this, and dumb ways to go about doing it. And allowing the authoritarian jerk in isn’t just a dumb way to go about doing it. It’s a dumb and cruel way. And understand if you’re a White Liberal choosing to vote Third Party or stay home and not vote Joe Biden the Genocidal Monster: you are benefiting from your White Privilege. You, like me, can keep your head down and pretend to be a Loyal Member of the Race, a Good American who pays your taxes and salutes the flag. You can scrub your Social Media posts and hide behind your anonymity on places like Lemmy, and go about your life. You will not be the first put into the cages by the Trump ICE. You will not be the first rounded up and deported to a foreign land with no citizenship. You will not be the first detained by the military during protests. Many, many people will pay the price for your privilege of voting third party or staying home because you won’t vote for no ‘genocider’. But remember two things First, you will have brought the genocide you say you oppose onto American shores. Second, once they are done with the migrants, the transgender people, the gays, the ‘sinful’ women protesting their rights to get a safe abortion, and so on, there’ll be nobody left to protect you when they turn their attention to you.

      Again. Biden ain’t no bed of roses. But one of two people will win in 2024, just like one of two people would win in 2020, and one of two people would win in 2016. I consider you all who voted Stein or Johnson in 2016 or stayed home in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania to be responsible for what Trump did in 2017 through 2020, and if Trump wins in 2024, I’ll hold you all accountable for what happens in 2025 and beyond.

      • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        tl;dr - The system is broken but we still have to pretend it isn’t because otherwise its brokenness will allow terrible things to happen and the people who do those things will face no repercussions.

        • Boddhisatva@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          tl;dr - The system is broken but we still have to pretend it isn’t because otherwise its brokenness will allow terrible things to happen and the people who do those things will face no repercussions.

          No, you can either use the broken system and try to minimize the damage done (by voting for Biden) or you can stomp your feet and refuse to use the system by not voting, or voting 3rd party, and in doing so allowing Trump to get reelected which will do great harm to you and everyone else who isn’t named Trump. It’s really a simple choice. Meanwhile, work to change the system. Join your local political party and support progressive candidates who also want to change the system. Hell, run for local office yourself and fight to change the system.

          You have a an angry bear charging at you your family and there’s no where to run. All you have is a dull knife. Do you try and fight off the bear or do you throw up your hands and scream it’s not fair while the bear kills your family?

  • 3volver@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Biden may be better than Trump, but the system is fucked to make those the only two options. If he wins, after the election I’m going to actively criticize everything about the Democratic party I can so that we have a chance to get a progressive candidate in 2028. For now I’m giving him a pass so we don’t take another step towards fascism. Republicans are going to use absolutely everything they can to squeeze their orange dictator into office.

    • TheHiddenCatboy@lemmy.worldOP
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      6 months ago

      This is a very fair approach. Stop Fascism now, then right after the vote is won, start pushing the party Left.

      • Cowbee [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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        6 months ago

        I will almost certainly be voting for Biden, but why on Earth do you think we can push the DNC to the left? “Stop fascism now, then right after the vote is won, start pushing the party Left” has been the calling action for progressives and leftists for decades and the US has gotten more right-wing with time.

        Why is this time any different? Is it finally time to realize that you cannot vote the DNC to the left at the scale required to make actual change?

          • Cowbee [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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            6 months ago

            That’s not the question I asked, haha. Voting reform would be nice, of course, but that doesn’t mean it will happen. That’s pure idealism. Voting reform has been pushed for for decades, how do you plan on actually getting voting reform through? Waiting for candidates to magically appear in the DNC and not just third party, and vote for them?

            • Natanael@slrpnk.net
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              6 months ago

              If you don’t get voting reform through, you don’t have much leverage at all for much else.

              • Cowbee [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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                I asked how you’re getting it through, are you just saying the answer is to wait for the DNC to get around to it? Because I really hope that isn’t what you’re saying.

                • Natanael@slrpnk.net
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                  6 months ago

                  How are you getting anything else through? If you can push them to make any changes at all, this one should have top priority

  • masquenox@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    You’re ignoring the big elephant in the room. This whole “lesser evilism” schtick that the bootlicker Dems have been relying on since 2016? It’s inevitably going to hit rock-bottom - and soon, too.

    • jaemo@sh.itjust.works
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      6 months ago

      Tell me you’re not a student of history without telling me you’re not a student of history.

      • Seasm0ke@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Regardless of the two party systems race to the bottom, 2016 saw the formal introduction of the Pied Piper strategy by the DNC during Hillarys campaign. Formally boosting the other parties evil factor by supporting trump and making the “vote for us, we arent them” the whole schtick.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      This whole “lesser evilism” schtick that the bootlicker Dems have been relying on since 2016?

      Since 1948 at least.

  • kescusay@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    On nearly every single issue, not only is he “better than Trump,” he’s actually good. On the environment? Actual progress in the form of a massive infrastructure bill that invests in green energy sources and tamping down on pollution. On education? He’s made student loan forgiveness a central tenet of his policy agenda. On the economy? He’s gotten inflation under control and the economy is actually doing great now.

    The elephant in the room is Israel and Palestine, of course, but I wish people would pause and think before knee-jerk reacting to… not even his policies there, just headlines about his policies.

    The fact of the matter is that the Middle East is a fucking mess and Israel is currently run by a government hell-bent on making it ten times worse, but Israel actually falling and the conflict overtaking the entire region would be a global catastrophe. Biden is doing what he can to pressure Netanyahu over the insane and genocidal treatment of Palestinians while not giving Iran and others the sense that they have free rein to invade. (And for FUCK’S sake, can we stop pretending Iran is suddenly the good guys? They’re supplying arms to Russia.)

    This is a nuanced, complex, and fragile situation, and like it or not, Biden is exactly the right kind of person for the presidency at a time like this. Not only that, Trump would make it ten thousand times worse on purpose, because it would please Putin to see Russia’s influence in the Middle East overtake that of the United States.

    There is literally only one sane choice on the ballot this year.

    • Gigasser@lemmy.world
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      I just like to think that we’re currently playing the Weimar Germany game. Let Trump win and you’ll have given the Republicans decades of power if not more. They’ve been planning for years to control the government through the supreme court, you think this is the worst they can do?

      For those wanting acceleration towards collapse, that’s not guaranteed, and will cause many deaths in the process if it does, and there probably still won’t be any guarantee or high likelihood of some sorta takeover by the proletariat or what have you. Seeing as how most of the militant groups in the US are likely to be right wing, all you’ll have is a right wing take over after a collapse.

    • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      There is literally only one sane choice on the ballot this year.

      Which is the real problem, has been a problem since before I could vote, and is a problem that cannot be fixed.

      • kescusay@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        I actually think it can be fixed, but doing so is hard work. It requires:

        • Full and unreserved repudiation of Trumpism/fascism.
        • Codifying the norms and standards he violated (and continues to violate) into law.
        • Creating federal legislation that clarifies exactly what “emoluments” are to prevent the office of the presidency from ever being used for self-enrichment again.
        • Going after every single Russia-compromised politician. Make politicians scared to get in bed with Vladimir Putin.
        • Figuring out a way to cut off the sewage pipeline leading from Russian troll factories to our TV and computer screens.
        • Implement ranked-choice voting at all levels.
        • candybrie@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          If we’re shooting for the stars, for election reform, I think we might need proportional representation. First-past-the-post is only one problem in our first-past-the-post, winner-take-all voting system.

        • Olgratin_Magmatoe@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          Implement ranked-choice voting at all levels

          Ranked is better than our current system, but STAR and approval would be even better.

          If we are doing election reform, we should go for the best.

  • DaBabyAteMaDingo@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Alright guys, get your Lemmy Political removed bingo card out! Let’s see how many we can hit! I already got the system is fucked and are we really reduced to these choices?. Oh! I just got democrats need to pull their head out of their ass!

    • inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Okay. Vote for a literal Nazi or don’t vote for anyone and let a literal Nazi tale office, again.

      Either way, I don’t really give a flying fuck what you get on your political bingo card, you enabled a literal fucking Nazi tale the office, again and I’ll think you’re an abject idiot so I guess we’ll all good.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Vote for a literal Nazi

        I was going to vote for a third party who was neither a Nazi nor a geriatric buffoon.

        you enabled a literal fucking Nazi tale the office

        My guy, you need to sit down and look up what the Electoral College is. No single person is in any way remotely responsible for Donald Trump’s presidency, except maybe the 304 electoral college delegates who had the privilege of being in the majority in January of 2016.

        Trying to blame individual voters in a system that deliberately disempowers individual voters is ignorant and foolish.

        • inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world
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          My guy, you need to sit down and look up what the electoral college is.

          Hillary lost Michigan by 10k votes, one of the key states whose 16 electoral votes were a major train went despite Hillary winning the popular vote, that fat, orange, white supremacist won the election.

          You say a single voter doesn’t matter but when you currently have 100k in Michigan voting ‘uncommited’ in the Democratic primary against the backdrop of you lost an entire god damn election by 10k, yeah maybe that single voter might actually be important. But you just keep that head in the sand and mumble how or can’t ever happen again.

          • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            Hillary lost Michigan by 10k votes

            Hillary lost Michigan for the same reason Romney lost Michigan. She campaigned on a platform of international trade deals and domestic deindustrialization. Folks in the Midwest consistently hate that.

            Biden’s running a ten-point approval gap relative to Gretchen Whitmer, doing all the annoying toxic shit Hillary did. If he loses Michigan in November, that’s why.

            You say a single voter doesn’t matter but when you currently have 100k in Michigan voting ‘uncommited’ in the Democratic primary

            100k is a lot more than a single voter. And this is an entirely unforced error on Biden’s part. He’s continuing to sponsor a nightmarish genocide in Palestine - one that virtually nobody in his party actually supports and which has poisoned huge swaths of the independent electorate against his presidency.

            That’s not something a “single voter” can fix. That’s a direct consequence of Biden’s own foreign policy. The only voter who can save Joe Biden from a loss in Michigan is Joe Biden.

  • Sam_Bass@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Gotta stop lumping all the players in one side together. Biden is not doing anything by himself and neither is the fat orange. Gotta pull out the microscope to see who is who and where and why rather than hitting on a single name. The house and senate are the major string pulling yoyos in everything that comes out of washington

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      Biden is not doing anything by himself and neither is the fat orange.

      That is a big part of the problem. If Biden’s camp was full of Green New Deal Dems and peaceniks and Justice Party economic reformers, I’d have a lot easier time supporting him.

      Instead, he’s surrounded himself with corporate flacks, banksters, MIC ghouls, and evangelicals, hoping to peel off the moderate Republican wing of the conservative party one more time.

      The house and senate are the major string pulling yoyos in everything that comes out of washington

      I would say that the donors are at the end of the strings, while House and Senate simply dance to their tunes. And when you consider how much influence a guy like Sam Bankman Fried had with “blue state” senators like Gillibrand and senior white house advisers like Steve Ricchetti, I gotta say I’m not thrilled to see the direction this party went in his first four years.

      Even before you get to the Palestinian Genocide or the continued US blockade of Cuban ports or the migrant prisons lining the US border or the rapid domestic increase in carbon emissions under a President who claimed to acknowledge climate change, it seems like liberals cannot bring themselves to see the naked mismanagement, graft, and cowardice of the current President.

      Boeing airliners are literally falling out of the sky and Biden’s FAA is still dragging its heels, for fear of upsetting one of the nation’s most well-financed lobbying teams. No federal prosecution of the Trump Administration is scheduled to move forward before November.

      By any standard, this Presidency has been a failure.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/07/visualised-how-all-of-g20-is-missing-climate-goals-but-some-nations-are-closer-than-others

          The US’s forecast 2030 emissions of more than 5bn metric tonnes is significantly higher than the 1.9bn metric tonnes it was allocated by the analysts under a 1.5C-compatible fair share model.

          This, combined with our largest trading partners - from China to Mexico/Canada to Saudi Arabia - all doing even worse, means a marginal decrease in emissions domestically will have no hope of meeting the 1.5C target for 2030. We are already cresting the 2C horizon this year and accelerating our rate of warming.

          https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-hot-world-meteorological-organization-6096b3b604025aea9dee07a653907b55

          The infrastructure act has been far too little and far too late, even setting aside how much of it is being squandered to appease profit-hungry American industrialists, more concerned with competing against global imports than curbing the global warming rate.

          • capital@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            I find myself having to repeat this over and over.

            Consider the context of the OP.

            Would Trump be better on this front?

            • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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              6 months ago

              I had a much better time with a Trump/Pelosi government than I’m having with a Biden/Johnson government. If nothing else, watching him get impeached again would be more entertaining than arguing over how much nerve gas to send to the Israelis.

              • capital@lemmy.world
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                6 months ago

                I asked if Trump would be better on climate and you attempted a pivot but you’re not gonna bullshit me.

                You’re not serious so I’m out.

                • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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                  6 months ago

                  I asked if Trump would be better on climate

                  If you want to go hard on the numbers, Trump’s pandemic was the best thing to happen to the climate since the early Obama Administration investment in green energy.

                  Joe Biden has seen nothing but emissions growth since he took office. The benefits of the Infrastructure Act remain speculative at best. But shutting down air travel for months and curtailing business activity nationally for the better part of two years? Possibly the greatest act of Degrowth committed in the United States since the Civil War.

                  You’re not serious so I’m out.

                  Democrats have all been on board with Crypto investments and AI expansion, both of which have been voracious consumers of domestic energy and water reserves. Republicans consistently tank the Tech sector while in office.

                  If you care about climate change, bankrupting Silicon Valley would be a great place to start.

      • aesthelete@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        By any standard, this Presidency has been a failure.

        Yep so let’s help elect an actual fascist that says he’ll finish the job in Gaza, has never seen a corrupt dollar that he didn’t want deposited in his bank account, wants to shoot protestors, extrajudicially executed antifa in the Pacific Northwest with federal goons, wants to be a dictator “only on day one”, and has already attempted to overthrow the government because he didn’t like the way an election turned out.

        Also, nevermind the fact that in a global pandemic the fucking guy wanted us to inject disinfectant, said the disease would go away like magic, had store shelves so empty we were wiping our asses with our hands, and had his administration steal crucial supplies from frontline workers to auction off around the country.

        Also set aside that he will let Russia steamroll Ukraine and will probably try to get the US out of NATO.

        And that he’s been indicted with something like 90 criminal counts and a dozen or more civil cases, some of which have already rendered judgements against him.

        And nevermind the non-stop craziness of the general population when he was originally elected in 2016 who while flying his flag ran over protestors with their cars, screamed at people on airlines, went to pizza places with weaponry demanding answers.

        Biden didn’t singlehandedly turn everything around from it being a country on active fire in four years, so let’s put Trump back in to finish the job both abroad and here at home.

        We’ll be a nice smoldering pile of rubble by next election season.

        – 💩🔥🇺🇸

        • Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          6 months ago

          I don’t argue with people who deny Genocide because their worldview requires them to ignore reality.

          For anyone wondering: I was curious as to what their exact motivation was, and I found them claiming that the Holdomor didn’t happen. .ml user don’t be a pro-genocide tankie challenge:

          • bloodfart@lemmy.ml
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            6 months ago

            If you’re talking about me, after the Soviet Union fell and historians got access to the archives it became irrefutable that there was no intentional genocidal famine. That’s what holodomor is, intentional genocide through famine.

            I never would say there was no famine or massive amount of death, but holodomor means a very specific thing that has been disproven.

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                6 months ago

                Since you asked: Davies & Wheatcroft: Years of Hunger.

                If you want to learn more about Robert Conquest, the anticommunist granted access to the Soviet archives who changed his tune about the famine afterwards, he has several books published but be warned: he thinks communism and Naziism are “twins”.

                His correspondence with Stephen Wheatcroft where he talks about the experience is published in years of hunger I think. My copy’s not at hand r/n.

  • ME5SENGER_24@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I’ll be one of the first to admit, I don’t like Biden. But, if you need to be convinced that he’s better than Trump, you’re an absolute buffoon!! Trump is worse than the shit you stepped on, on your walk. Trump is the worst thing to ever happen to the American presidency. He’s the closest we’ll get to Adolf Hitler and he relishes in that. He thinks it makes him “a bad boy” or someone moving against the curve…and he’s right, he’s moving against the curve. He’s moving against it in 4 straight lines that will bend consecutively in 90° angles to the right. My point is, TRUMP IS NAZI SCUM WHO’S WORSE THAN THE SHIT ON YOUR HEEL

    • Linkerbaan@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Biden is actively supporting Nazi style Genocide right now.

      But not the figurative one. Literal Nazi Genocide.

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          6 months ago

          Israel recently did the biggest land grab in like 30 years under Joe Biden. Not under Donald Trump. Once again there is no difference except Biden probably being worse.

          Trump is a massive moron but he is not stupid enough to escalate into World War 3.

          In fact he has already proven he is not that stupid because after the Suleimani assasination Iran retaliated. And Trump then cut off the escalation.

          An Abrupt Move That Stunned Aides: Inside Trump’s Aborted Attack on Iran

          But barely three hours later, Mr. Trump had changed his mind. Without consulting his vice president, secretary of state or national security adviser, he reversed himself and, with ships readying missiles and airplanes already in the skies, told the Pentagon to call off the airstrikes with only 10 minutes to go. When Vice President Mike Pence and other officials returned to the White House for what they expected would be a long night of monitoring a military operation, they were stunned to learn the attack was off.

          That about-face, so typically impulsive, instinctive and removed from any process, proved a decision point for a president who has often threatened to “totally destroy” enemies but at the same time has promised to extricate the United States from Middle East wars. It revealed a commander in chief more cautious than critics have assumed, yet underscored the limited options in a confrontation he had set in motion.

          • TheFriar@lemm.ee
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            6 months ago

            I mean, we all get it. But Biden is worse? What makes you possibly think trump will make smarter and more humane decisions for the Palestinian people?

            • Linkerbaan@lemmy.world
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              6 months ago

              Have you… Have you seen what Biden has done over the last 6 months? We’re talking literal Holocaust Nazi concentration camp extermination of Palestinians.

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                6 months ago

                Dude… everyone knows you’re a right wing troll here. Why do you keep up with this bullshit. You’re not pro Palestine, you’re just anti-Biden. The proof lies in the fact that nearly everthing you say here is for the purpose of shitting on him.

                Just stop man.

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        6 months ago

        This is flat-out misinformation. But that’s allowed here apparently. Still needs to be called out though.

  • Ultragigagigantic@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Democrats should get over themselves and push through ranked choice voting in each state they control. Republicans gaining control of the nation is a existential threat, and we should be using every tool to keep them out. This means getting rid of FPTP voting and the spoiler effect inherent in it.

    OP, you seem very concerned with how people vote. Have you worked to start an electoral reform campaign in your state? you can entirely solve the spoiler effect that you’re concerned with! What are you waiting for?

  • arin@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    This is more of a political meme, Biden and friends have no other talking point than"not trump" well so is any random person on the street. Dumbass reason to vote for Biden. Need another Bernie Sanders, progressive and not gonna fund random wars lobbied by MIC

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      6 months ago

      Problem is, we have to unite behind somebody, because everyone who votes red isn’t going to vote anyone but Trump.

      If we don’t decide to unite behind one person, we lose to an actual fascist.

      • aberrate_junior_beatnik@midwest.social
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        6 months ago

        Funny how the person we always end up having to unite behind is someone who would have been a republican 20 years ago, and not someone who’ll actually try to make change

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          It’s funny how when the threat of fascism looms, you don’t tend to have a full array of different choices laid out in a neat menu of candidates to thwart it.

          It’s almost as if the conditions that create fascism necessarily require and go on to arrange a lukewarm, unpopular candidate as the only other option so rubes can justify not voting when the actual fascist needs them to abstain.

          I’m so tired of the people who think they’re better than the system and don’t fully grasp that we’re fighting just to keep some modicum of a democracy.

          • bloodfart@lemmy.ml
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            6 months ago

            The conditions for fascism necessarily result in a lukewarm unpopular candidate because the conditions that give rise to fascism are decades of lukewarm unpopular policies enacted out of expediency.

  • oxjox@lemmy.ml
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    6 months ago

    Dude. This USA Today blog post is from December 2023. It doesn’t even mention Israel.

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    6 months ago

    No thanks.

    I will never vote for Joe Biden again. Party for Socialism and Liberation at the national level this year.

    • TheHiddenCatboy@lemmy.worldOP
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      6 months ago

      Then I guess you’re happy with subjecting non-Christian, Gay, Transgender, and Minority friends to Team Twitler.

      • bloodfart@lemmy.ml
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        6 months ago

        No. You’re not gonna convince me I’m responsible for how other people treat minorities.

        I don’t have to choose between the lesser of two evils.

        • Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          6 months ago

          I don’t believe that “responsibility” is a useful tool for navigating moral choices. It doesn’t matter who’s “responsible” for the trolly. If there’s someone on the tracks, and you consciously decided not to pull the lever, you chose for them to die.

          If trans people are going to be killed, and you don’t vote, you chose to prioritize your time over their safety.

          Responsibility is a myth invented to assuage guilt for inaction.

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            6 months ago

            I am absolutely going to vote, just not for Biden or trump.

            I’m not going to weigh future trans people dying against current Palestinians dying.

            • Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              6 months ago

              Voting 3rd party isn’t going to help Palestinians. If you want to vote for someone who isn’t a Democrat, you should start building a grass-roots electoral movement (the way Bernie Sanders) did now so you can do that next time.

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                6 months ago

                is the argument here that neither party will actually help the pals and voting third party can’t help them either so i ought to vote only based on the other stuff?

                so we’re clear, i stopped voting for democrats years ago. it was in part to the constant “next time” and “most important election” rhetoric.

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                  6 months ago

                  Oh, you’re that weirdo who’s all about how the Holdomor was fake.

                  Yeah, it makes sense that you would misrepresent my argument like that. I’m still not arguing with a genocide denier.

  • Guy_Fieris_Hair@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Cmon guys! He’s slightly better than a human pile of shit. Go vote! If you don’t vote for our babbling, senile, old man it will be 100% your fault if we get stuck with the other shit bag for 4 more years. We carry zero responsibility for proping this senile old man up, it is 100% on you, the voters.

    Good thing the Republicans are all idiots, it lowered the bar so fucking low we can do whatever we want. Because we can’t possibly go the other way and do something better. We have to take advantage and get away with whatever we can.

    -The DNC probably.

    Someday the DNC will realize Republicans fall in line, democrats fall in love. Forgetting that gave us Trump over Hillary. The only hope that we don’t end up with Trump is us being fueled by hate. I am going to vote, but counting on people to take time off work and wait hours in line to vote only because they are so scared of another possible outcome is the worst reality. But here we are.

    • TheHiddenCatboy@lemmy.worldOP
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      6 months ago

      babbling, senile, old man

      It’s true. He’s old. We don’t need to be ageist, though. The question is can he do the job, and he’s proven for the past 4 years that he can. I’d like younger, but the time for a younger candidate was 4 years ago, not now, when the Primaries are about wrapped up.

      He does have a gaffe problem, but that’s not a function of him being senile. Are you ableist on top of being ageist? He’s not good with speech, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING indicates the man isn’t aware of what’s going on around him and can’t communicate.

      the Republicans are all idiots,

      Do you really believe that? That party managed to put a stamp on this country that will last long after I’m dead unless we hit LEV and I live to be a thousand years old. They managed to do what the Left couldn’t do and put their differences aside long enough to get 6/9 out of the Supreme Court, 28/49 Legislatures, 57/98 Chambers, and 4022/7386 legislators. It was their idea to “Vote for the best candidate in the Primary, and the winner of our Primary in the General” first, and that strategy has secured them several big wins, including overturning Roe V Wade.

      take advantage and get away with whatever we can

      Welcome to adulthood in America! Glad you could join us! It’s been this way forever and yes, I’m 100% behind you with the whole “Dems are shitty for using the bad behaviour of Republicans to cover for their own.” And guess what! I once believed as you did. Al Gore v Bush? My vote was ‘none of the above’. And then I saw the consequences of that vote, the utter shitshow that Bush the Younger visited upon the United States, and his utter mismanagement of the economy and Hurricane Katrina and of freedoms and liberty (do you remember “Free Speech Zones”? I do…) and leading us into a war based on nothing but lies and the fallout of that war and the crazy gas prices of 2004 and 2005 and 2006 and the economic collapse that took a good 2 years of unrecognised hard work as Obama had to stop and fix all the shit Bush 43 broke. I too was pissed when Obama cowtowed to Republicans and Insurance Companies and gave us RomneyCare repackaged as ObamaCare, but I recognise that that’s the way the game is played, and I look at my wife and my friends and all the people I don’t know like migrants that are just trying to escape a hell in their own country that Trump promises to unleash the military on when (not if in his mind, when) he’s returned to office and I realise a fact. The solution never HAS been and never WILL be to just stay home and let the Fascist takeover of our country happen. Like the Democrats know that they never have to change if you don’t show up in the election, the Republicans know you WON’T show up, so they can edge to the Right counting on you to stay home.

      Like I KEEP saying. There is the smart option, of showing up faithfully every year, voting for the Progressive in the Primary and for the Democrat (however much you have to hold your nose to do it), year after year, accepting the proper amount of change in your direction given you represent a quarter of the American electorate at BEST, and there’s the stupid way of doing it, which is to stay at home and let the avowed Fascist win, and watching the protests get swept up on 20 January 2025 by military people and literal unmarked vans with Federal officers who are wearing no identifying marks at all, just like what happened in 2020 during Floyd’s protests. And if you advocate for the stupid way, I’m going to minimally call you stupid, if not outright callous and cruel, doing Russia and the Republican’s dirty work for them.

      • Guy_Fieris_Hair@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        “It’s true. He’s old. We don’t need to be ageist, though. The question he do the job, and he’s proven for the past 4 years that he can.”

        He can’t do the job. He can just do it slightly less badly than the last guy. The country and inflation is shit. Some of that is his predecessor, but he has done nothing to change shit. His cronies still dodge taxes, and I still pay nearly a 1/4 of my income to feds alone. He tried to pretend to forgive student debt by executive order knowing exactly how it would be shut down so he can pander. Kamala called for legalization of pot a month ago when their polls are low. Yet nothing will come of it. Because they are just pandering. He has done nothing, and since our previous president was so abundantly horrible, that actually seems like a good thing. I get it, “choose the less of two evils, welcome to adulthood” I am fucking 50. I’ve been an adult plenty long enough. I have never not voted because I didn’t like who was there. But I will fucking removed about it online and I am not going to shill for shitbags. Yeah, I am all the ists if that is what you have to call everyone you disagree with, he used to speak ok, now he struggles getting a sentence out.

        If thinking someone who was born a decade and a half before we sent and object into space is too old to make decisions on the governance of AI is agist… than I am agist. Trump, Biden, Bernie, all too old for the world we live in. So are all the senators that don’t give up their seats.

        I get it is what it is and maybe some people just accept it. I won’t. I’ll vote but I won’t smile while I do it.