I’m open for a Somebody not Biden, Somebody not Trump, Somebody not Republican, Somebody not from a crazy batshit philosophy with rabid tyrants behind and Somebody who is competent to be on the ballot.
I think we all need to watch a full Biden speech every once in a while, just to remind ourselves that he’s not the walking dementia case a lot of outlets portray using fifteen second clips of him stumbling on words halfway through a sentence (just like he stumbles on sandbags that are conveniently cropped out of these same videos).
He actually speaks really well considering he has a stutter that be had to work hard on. It can make him come across as ineloquent sometimes but if you actually listen to what he’s saying he doesn’t sound unintelligent. It’s easy to twist things though when you just pick and choose whatever miniscule soundbite you want though.
Also fucking look around for the most part he returned stability to our lives. The only thing continually threatening it is the right and the consequences of them being in power.
In terms of supporting Biden, I’m sure I’m broadly on your side, but I wanted to note: when I vote for Biden in 2024, it won’t be for stability.
Biden’s ban on ICE worksite immigration raids takes a miniscule step toward empowering migrant workers.
Biden’s decision to keep student loans paused for the entire first 30 months of his term has empowered borrowers by giving them more wiggle room to make decisions like moves and career changes. That translates to higher pay.
The energy efficient home improvement subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act make individual homeowners less dependent on energy companies, and keeps more of their money out of those companies’ hands.
Biden’s ban on slave labor solar panel imports forces solar panel buyers to purchase from companies that pay their workers. This compounds an already existing labor shortage and gives workers even more leverage.
We’re thankful that the Biden administration played the long game on sick days and stuck with us for months after Congress imposed our updated national agreement.
So far from merely defending stability, Biden has been winning ground for workers on dozens of tiny, subtle battlegrounds, and that gives me hope for the future.
A few weeks ago, when I left Reddit, I saw an argument between anarchists and tankies where one of the tankies sneeringly referred to their anarchist interlocutor as an “anarcho-Bidenist”
I know it is not a real economic philosophy. I know it was supposed to be an insult. But after what I’ve seen of President Biden so far? Count me in.
He actually speaks really well considering he has a stutter that be had to work hard on. It can make him come across as ineloquent sometimes but if you actually listen to what he’s saying he doesn’t sound unintelligent. It’s easy to twist things though when you just pick and choose whatever miniscule soundbite you want though.
No. Do not vote for any candidate other than the one picked by the Democratic party (probably Biden) to run against the Republican candidate (probably Trump). Voting for alternative parties decreases Democratic votes for Biden, and increases the chances of a Trump reelection. Alternative candidates (even if they’re absolutely amazing individuals) don’t have a chance in hell of getting enough votes to make a difference, but they have an excellent chance of diverting voting mass from the Democratic candidate. Unless you’re really stoked for another four years of Trump and his fascist cronies, go for a straight Democratic ticket. Your protest vote won’t help anyone except Trump. Guaranteed. I wouldn’t be surprised if Republicans are supporting third party candidates in battleground states, cause that would be a smart move. Please vote for the Democrat, ffs.
So how are we supposed to actually get a genuinely progressive candidate in? And we can’t just leave things with the terrible two-party system we have. What’s the alternative other than “Vote lesser evil! Maybe we’ll get someone good rather than just not terrible eventually!”? Am I missing something here? ~Cherri
I mean kind of, but more like, “Let’s keep that crazy guy from making things absolutely dogshit and then from there we figure improvements out, but if the fascists take over it’s game over because they change the rules as soon as they get power in order to keep power.”
It’s not voting for a lesser evil. It’s a vote to keep democracy turned on. Once the democracy is turned off it’s incredibly hard to turn back on again. One guy talks about invalidating elections due to imaginary fraud while selling state secrets. The other guy is just old but he likes it when people vote in elections for things. Is that the lesser of two evils? Kind of a silly phrase. Any two things, one will be more evil, and as nothing is perfect, the other will have less but still some evil. The lesser of two evils is an excuse to do nothing or in this case, scuttle any hope of doing better in the future.
Why can’t we do more than one thing at the same time? Why not try to make things better than before and prevent the fascists (they’re not “crazy”, fasciam isn’t caused by mental illness) from taking over? I mean things being as terrible as they are for the working class right now is a pretty major factor in rhe recent rise in fascism, so really you have to do the former to do the latter, otherwise it won’t work. You have to meaningfully improve things to combat fascism. So what are we supposed to do to get things like UBI; single-payer M4A; a voting system better than first past the post, student debt cancellation and free college tuition; codification of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, queer civil rights, and Roe v. Wade, and other progressive policies to actually be implemented?.. ~Cherri
Primaries. It’s where most elections actually happen anyway. The vast majority of Senate seats are gerrymandered so that one or the other party is practically guaranteed a win. Generally the best strategy is to vote in whatever primary is going to win the general election, and try to move the levers from the inside instead of putting forth someone that is guaranteed to lose in the general.
How do we do all of that and get rid of the gerrymandering and stuff? Right now it doesn’t feel possible but… I don’t know, I forgot where I was going with this. ~Cherri
I don’t “protest vote”. I vote for the best candidates on the ballot. I vote for the candidates that I would like to see win.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Republicans are supporting third party candidates in battleground states, cause that would be a smart move.
I wish the Republicans were funneling money to socialists and other leftist candidates. I think it would backfire on them the same way “elevating” Trump did for the Democrats.
Please vote for the Democrat, ffs.
I sure will, as soon as the Democrats adopt single-payer health care, free college tuition, a Green New Deal, etc. If they want my vote, it’s simple: adopt the Greens’ platform. I have no loyalty to parties. I would’ve voted for Bernie if he’d gotten nominated.
Is a candidate you agree with 100% but who has 0% chance of winning the best candidate? Or, is it the candidate you agree with 75% and has 60% chance of winning?
The current two-party system we have is god awful. We can’t leave it like this. What are we supposed to do? How do you propose we get single-payer M4A? UBI? Green New Deal? Free college tuition? Ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child? Codifying the rights of queer people? Codifying Roe v Wade? What specifically are we supposed to do about this if voting doesn’t work? Am I missing something here? How do we get out of this nightmare? ~Cherri
I believe so. My goal is to get Democrats an unassailable majority, without needing people like Manchin. I think we’ll see a lot of great changes if that happens.
If we get to that point and Democrats still don’t get things done, and there’s no reasonable explanation, I will turn on them on a dime.
Yes. That’s unfortunately how it is in a 2 party system which is guaranteed by the game theory behind first part the past voting. Burying your head in the sand and pretending otherwise with a 3rd party vote leads to a spoiling effect more destructive to your cause.
I understand being frustrated with the two-party system but given what we’ve got now, voting for anything other than the democratic ticket is detrimental to your views. Voting third party in our current political climate can literally only help Republicans.
As I said in another reply, until we have national ranked-choice voting, voting for a third party candidate is not in any way helpful, no matter how much you dislike the party. At the end of the day, it’s going to be far better having a Democratic majority and president than anyone from the GOP, who are an existential threat (climate change, reproductive rights, class equity, etc).
The failure of the left to unite behind the Green Party is what has caused so many of our problems. The Greens were talking about a Green New Deal over a decade ago; for the Democrats, that’s a fringe position even today. And that’s just one issue. Single payer health care was part of the Green platform back in the 90s, and that’s still a fringe position for Democrats 30 years later. I could go on and on.
It was also somewhat in the beforetimes. I used to ALWAYS vote third party. Then one party decided that facts, such as who won an election didn’t matter anymore, and that sealed the fate of my voting for third parties. We’ll really never see a viable third party until either one side of the R/D fractures into two parties, handing complete control for a while to the other, or we move away from ‘first past the post’ voting.
RFK’s environmentalism is appealing. Banning GMO, and cleaning up our natural resources. At least that’s what’s grabbed my attention. He’s also not a warmongering neocon like Biden. RFK wants a peace driven American society.
Bat shit crazy? If you say so but he’s got very good ideas.
GMO could be an important tool for maintaining crop yields during impending climate change. Banning it outright is bat shit crazy. Anti vax attitudes are already gaining traction. Electing an anti vaxxer would be bat shit crazy.
His environmentalism is a facade to try and capture people who think an appeal to nature is as good as actually having ideas.
Several countries in Europe already ban GMO. There’s a few countries in the middle east and Africa that ban GMO.
GMO has been responsible for environmental foibles and is not healthy for human consumption.
You speak in prophecy regarding the banning of GMOs destroying our future yet say it so matter of factly. It’s funny as fuck. Thanks for making my night lol.
GMO has been responsible for environmental foibles
Such as?
and is not healthy for human consumption.
That’s like saying ‘nuts are not healthy for human consumption’ because it’s possible to breed toxic varieties of almonds with high cyanide content in a conventional manner. Sure, it is possible to genetically engineer food to be unsafe. There is no evidence it’s happening and there would be no compelling reason to do that. There are lots of reasons to use it to make food healthier and more nutritious.
Yeah, but then there’s his anti-semitism and his conspiracy theory that COVID was genetically engineered so that it would spare the Jews but kill other people. Or his conspiracy theory that WiFi causes cancer and a leaky brain. Or his conspiracy theory that anti-depressants cause school shootings. Or his conspiracy theory that AIDS isn’t caused by HIV. Or his conspiracy theory that vaccinations cause autism. Or his conspiracy theory that Ivermectin is a magical cure for COVID. Or his conspiracy theory that Bill Gates collaborated with Dr. Anthony Fauci to make the pandemic appear much worse than it really was in order to promote vaccines.
And that’s just a tiny fraction of the insane conspiracy theories he has promoted over the years.
I really wouldn’t want to know what a guy like that would do with the power of the U.S. presidency.
…is stupid. The only difference between a GMO banana and a regular banana is that the GMO banana was cultivated faster.
There is absolutely no evidence of any ill health effects or harm to our agriculture industry from GMO foods and a lot of evidence of the good it can do (such as the Golden Rice Project).
He is an anti-vaxer that proclaims vaccines cause autism, despite that being thoroughly debunked. So no, not going to put any trust in anything else he says.
Also, there’s a reason a bunch of right-wing tech bros are pumping money at him - specifically to fracture the liberal/independent vote to help Trump.
Having a two party system sucks, but until we get nation-wide ranked choice voting, it’s not going anywhere. And if you have liberal-leaning views, there’s no question that any Democratic candidate is going to be far better than any GOP candidate, by basically any metric.
RFK Jr. Is an openly Anti-Vax misinformation spreading conspiracy theorist who believes vaccines cause autism, regularly equates standard public health procedures to the damn Holocaust, pushed the use of Ivermectin for COVID in his book from 2021, and claimed that Chinese and Ashkenazi Jewish people were not affected by COVID because it was target white and black people. Regardless of his foreign intervention or environmental views, he’s a propagandist nut case who’s family openly shuns him. His father and uncle would be rolling in their graves if they could see who he turned out to be.
I’m open for a Somebody not Biden, Somebody not Trump, Somebody not Republican, Somebody not from a crazy batshit philosophy with rabid tyrants behind and Somebody who is competent to be on the ballot.
Can we get that someone, please?
I think we all need to watch a full Biden speech every once in a while, just to remind ourselves that he’s not the walking dementia case a lot of outlets portray using fifteen second clips of him stumbling on words halfway through a sentence (just like he stumbles on sandbags that are conveniently cropped out of these same videos).
He actually speaks really well considering he has a stutter that be had to work hard on. It can make him come across as ineloquent sometimes but if you actually listen to what he’s saying he doesn’t sound unintelligent. It’s easy to twist things though when you just pick and choose whatever miniscule soundbite you want though.
Also fucking look around for the most part he returned stability to our lives. The only thing continually threatening it is the right and the consequences of them being in power.
In terms of supporting Biden, I’m sure I’m broadly on your side, but I wanted to note: when I vote for Biden in 2024, it won’t be for stability.
Biden’s ban on ICE worksite immigration raids takes a miniscule step toward empowering migrant workers.
Biden’s decision to keep student loans paused for the entire first 30 months of his term has empowered borrowers by giving them more wiggle room to make decisions like moves and career changes. That translates to higher pay.
The energy efficient home improvement subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act make individual homeowners less dependent on energy companies, and keeps more of their money out of those companies’ hands.
Biden’s ban on slave labor solar panel imports forces solar panel buyers to purchase from companies that pay their workers. This compounds an already existing labor shortage and gives workers even more leverage.
Like anyone, I was disappointed with the result of the rail workers’ strikes. But even there, the IBEW won a few sick day victories in negotiations with rail companies just this June, and their president said,
So far from merely defending stability, Biden has been winning ground for workers on dozens of tiny, subtle battlegrounds, and that gives me hope for the future.
A few weeks ago, when I left Reddit, I saw an argument between anarchists and tankies where one of the tankies sneeringly referred to their anarchist interlocutor as an “anarcho-Bidenist”
I know it is not a real economic philosophy. I know it was supposed to be an insult. But after what I’ve seen of President Biden so far? Count me in.
This should be the top comment. Totally love your perspective and ability to write these thoughts down.
Awwww! Thank you!
At the end of the day- he speaks exceptionally better than trump ever did.
He actually speaks really well considering he has a stutter that be had to work hard on. It can make him come across as ineloquent sometimes but if you actually listen to what he’s saying he doesn’t sound unintelligent. It’s easy to twist things though when you just pick and choose whatever miniscule soundbite you want though.
He’s a bad public speaker like the last guy.
Right!? Although it’s hard to believe sometimes I know we have smart ppl that would do a great job.
Vote Green.
No. Do not vote for any candidate other than the one picked by the Democratic party (probably Biden) to run against the Republican candidate (probably Trump). Voting for alternative parties decreases Democratic votes for Biden, and increases the chances of a Trump reelection. Alternative candidates (even if they’re absolutely amazing individuals) don’t have a chance in hell of getting enough votes to make a difference, but they have an excellent chance of diverting voting mass from the Democratic candidate. Unless you’re really stoked for another four years of Trump and his fascist cronies, go for a straight Democratic ticket. Your protest vote won’t help anyone except Trump. Guaranteed. I wouldn’t be surprised if Republicans are supporting third party candidates in battleground states, cause that would be a smart move. Please vote for the Democrat, ffs.
There’s proof this happened with the Green party in multiple previous election cycles.
Montana Republicans bankrolled Green Party ballot access
GOP-linked firm paid $532,000 for Greens petition drive, files say
If you live in a safe state, feel free to cast a protest vote knowing it will not make a difference. We don’t have a national election.
2000? I could not vote for Al Gore, and I didn’t. Guess what?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_United_States_presidential_election_in_Oregon
Yup. No difference.
2016 I could not vote for Clinton.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_States_presidential_election_in_Oregon
Same deal.
So how are we supposed to actually get a genuinely progressive candidate in? And we can’t just leave things with the terrible two-party system we have. What’s the alternative other than “Vote lesser evil! Maybe we’ll get someone good rather than just not terrible eventually!”? Am I missing something here? ~Cherri
I mean kind of, but more like, “Let’s keep that crazy guy from making things absolutely dogshit and then from there we figure improvements out, but if the fascists take over it’s game over because they change the rules as soon as they get power in order to keep power.”
It’s not voting for a lesser evil. It’s a vote to keep democracy turned on. Once the democracy is turned off it’s incredibly hard to turn back on again. One guy talks about invalidating elections due to imaginary fraud while selling state secrets. The other guy is just old but he likes it when people vote in elections for things. Is that the lesser of two evils? Kind of a silly phrase. Any two things, one will be more evil, and as nothing is perfect, the other will have less but still some evil. The lesser of two evils is an excuse to do nothing or in this case, scuttle any hope of doing better in the future.
Why can’t we do more than one thing at the same time? Why not try to make things better than before and prevent the fascists (they’re not “crazy”, fasciam isn’t caused by mental illness) from taking over? I mean things being as terrible as they are for the working class right now is a pretty major factor in rhe recent rise in fascism, so really you have to do the former to do the latter, otherwise it won’t work. You have to meaningfully improve things to combat fascism. So what are we supposed to do to get things like UBI; single-payer M4A; a voting system better than first past the post, student debt cancellation and free college tuition; codification of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, queer civil rights, and Roe v. Wade, and other progressive policies to actually be implemented?.. ~Cherri
Love the downvotes with no explanation or answer to the question (even if it’s just “I don’t know”) /s ~Cherri
Primaries. It’s where most elections actually happen anyway. The vast majority of Senate seats are gerrymandered so that one or the other party is practically guaranteed a win. Generally the best strategy is to vote in whatever primary is going to win the general election, and try to move the levers from the inside instead of putting forth someone that is guaranteed to lose in the general.
How do we do all of that and get rid of the gerrymandering and stuff? Right now it doesn’t feel possible but… I don’t know, I forgot where I was going with this. ~Cherri
I don’t “protest vote”. I vote for the best candidates on the ballot. I vote for the candidates that I would like to see win.
I wish the Republicans were funneling money to socialists and other leftist candidates. I think it would backfire on them the same way “elevating” Trump did for the Democrats.
I sure will, as soon as the Democrats adopt single-payer health care, free college tuition, a Green New Deal, etc. If they want my vote, it’s simple: adopt the Greens’ platform. I have no loyalty to parties. I would’ve voted for Bernie if he’d gotten nominated.
Is a candidate you agree with 100% but who has 0% chance of winning the best candidate? Or, is it the candidate you agree with 75% and has 60% chance of winning?
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The current two-party system we have is god awful. We can’t leave it like this. What are we supposed to do? How do you propose we get single-payer M4A? UBI? Green New Deal? Free college tuition? Ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child? Codifying the rights of queer people? Codifying Roe v Wade? What specifically are we supposed to do about this if voting doesn’t work? Am I missing something here? How do we get out of this nightmare? ~Cherri
Campaign within the Democratic Party for those positions- they already have a lot of support.
Enough support among other politicians within the Democratic Party to get them to pass this stuff if they have a majority? ~Cherri
I believe so. My goal is to get Democrats an unassailable majority, without needing people like Manchin. I think we’ll see a lot of great changes if that happens.
If we get to that point and Democrats still don’t get things done, and there’s no reasonable explanation, I will turn on them on a dime.
Yes. That’s unfortunately how it is in a 2 party system which is guaranteed by the game theory behind first part the past voting. Burying your head in the sand and pretending otherwise with a 3rd party vote leads to a spoiling effect more destructive to your cause.
I understand being frustrated with the two-party system but given what we’ve got now, voting for anything other than the democratic ticket is detrimental to your views. Voting third party in our current political climate can literally only help Republicans.
As I said in another reply, until we have national ranked-choice voting, voting for a third party candidate is not in any way helpful, no matter how much you dislike the party. At the end of the day, it’s going to be far better having a Democratic majority and president than anyone from the GOP, who are an existential threat (climate change, reproductive rights, class equity, etc).
The failure of the left to unite behind the Green Party is what has caused so many of our problems. The Greens were talking about a Green New Deal over a decade ago; for the Democrats, that’s a fringe position even today. And that’s just one issue. Single payer health care was part of the Green platform back in the 90s, and that’s still a fringe position for Democrats 30 years later. I could go on and on.
The green party has been for the last decade funded by the GOP run PACs as a means to siphon left leaning votes. Don’t be a fool.
I’m the fool? The planet is burning, and they have you convinced that the one party who’s interested in fixing it is your enemy.
Ah, yes. I remember when I was young, healthy, middle class, single, and childless too.
It was also somewhat in the beforetimes. I used to ALWAYS vote third party. Then one party decided that facts, such as who won an election didn’t matter anymore, and that sealed the fate of my voting for third parties. We’ll really never see a viable third party until either one side of the R/D fractures into two parties, handing complete control for a while to the other, or we move away from ‘first past the post’ voting.
And then you sold out?
RFK is the best person in the race.
He specifically asked for someone NOT batshit crazy. That rules RFK out.
RFK’s environmentalism is appealing. Banning GMO, and cleaning up our natural resources. At least that’s what’s grabbed my attention. He’s also not a warmongering neocon like Biden. RFK wants a peace driven American society.
Bat shit crazy? If you say so but he’s got very good ideas.
GMO could be an important tool for maintaining crop yields during impending climate change. Banning it outright is bat shit crazy. Anti vax attitudes are already gaining traction. Electing an anti vaxxer would be bat shit crazy.
His environmentalism is a facade to try and capture people who think an appeal to nature is as good as actually having ideas.
Several countries in Europe already ban GMO. There’s a few countries in the middle east and Africa that ban GMO.
GMO has been responsible for environmental foibles and is not healthy for human consumption.
You speak in prophecy regarding the banning of GMOs destroying our future yet say it so matter of factly. It’s funny as fuck. Thanks for making my night lol.
Such as?
That’s like saying ‘nuts are not healthy for human consumption’ because it’s possible to breed toxic varieties of almonds with high cyanide content in a conventional manner. Sure, it is possible to genetically engineer food to be unsafe. There is no evidence it’s happening and there would be no compelling reason to do that. There are lots of reasons to use it to make food healthier and more nutritious.
Yeah, but then there’s his anti-semitism and his conspiracy theory that COVID was genetically engineered so that it would spare the Jews but kill other people. Or his conspiracy theory that WiFi causes cancer and a leaky brain. Or his conspiracy theory that anti-depressants cause school shootings. Or his conspiracy theory that AIDS isn’t caused by HIV. Or his conspiracy theory that vaccinations cause autism. Or his conspiracy theory that Ivermectin is a magical cure for COVID. Or his conspiracy theory that Bill Gates collaborated with Dr. Anthony Fauci to make the pandemic appear much worse than it really was in order to promote vaccines.
And that’s just a tiny fraction of the insane conspiracy theories he has promoted over the years.
I really wouldn’t want to know what a guy like that would do with the power of the U.S. presidency.
…is stupid. The only difference between a GMO banana and a regular banana is that the GMO banana was cultivated faster.
There is absolutely no evidence of any ill health effects or harm to our agriculture industry from GMO foods and a lot of evidence of the good it can do (such as the Golden Rice Project).
He is an anti-vaxer that proclaims vaccines cause autism, despite that being thoroughly debunked. So no, not going to put any trust in anything else he says.
Also, there’s a reason a bunch of right-wing tech bros are pumping money at him - specifically to fracture the liberal/independent vote to help Trump.
Having a two party system sucks, but until we get nation-wide ranked choice voting, it’s not going anywhere. And if you have liberal-leaning views, there’s no question that any Democratic candidate is going to be far better than any GOP candidate, by basically any metric.
RFK Jr. Is an openly Anti-Vax misinformation spreading conspiracy theorist who believes vaccines cause autism, regularly equates standard public health procedures to the damn Holocaust, pushed the use of Ivermectin for COVID in his book from 2021, and claimed that Chinese and Ashkenazi Jewish people were not affected by COVID because it was target white and black people. Regardless of his foreign intervention or environmental views, he’s a propagandist nut case who’s family openly shuns him. His father and uncle would be rolling in their graves if they could see who he turned out to be.