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.
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.
This is a very fair approach. Stop Fascism now, then right after the vote is won, start pushing the party Left.
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?
With FPTP voting you literally don’t have a choice. Push for voting reforms first
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?
If you don’t get voting reform through, you don’t have much leverage at all for much else.
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.
How are you getting anything else through? If you can push them to make any changes at all, this one should have top priority
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Biden is actively supporting Nazi style Genocide right now.
But not the figurative one. Literal Nazi Genocide.
And you think Trump would be doing…what, exactly? Let’s not forget Trump Heights
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.
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?
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.
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.
Sorry are you the guy that claims israel is not committing Genocide?
This is flat-out misinformation. But that’s allowed here apparently. Still needs to be called out though.
Imagine being a Genocide denier.
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.
Tell me you’re not a student of history without telling me you’re not a student of history.
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.
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?
They would never do that. Then you wouldn’t vote Democrat anymore.
Biden is currently pulling us into World War 3 by supporting Genocide. He is actively pushing for Republican style immigration laws.
At this point there is no difference between Biden or Trump.
If you think Trump is going to stop Israel from killing Palestinians or make immigration easier for brown people, you are very mistaken.
Sooooo is Biden doing any of those things?
???
Trump would be focused on destroying our institutions rather than other countries. There is definitely a difference.
Would you rather have the mass murder millions of innocent brown people in foreign countries than have negative consequences for the precious white Americans?
It’s really scary to me, as a trans person with many trans friends, how eager much of the far left is to write us off as sacrifices. I guess my life doesn’t matter to you because I’m a “precious white American” (and this disingenuous horseshit totally ignores the fact that POC trans Americans will undoubtedly be the most affected).
But hey, at least I can feel as I draw my last tortured breaths in a christo-fascist deathcamp some solace in knowing that online tankies got to feel satisfaction in helping punish Biden by helping elect an honest-to-god fascist.
Rather condone the Genocide of millions of innocents than advocate for change you would prefer not taking any risk and having them certainly murdered with support of the Biden regime?
It’s pretty astounding to me that people do not consider Biden a Christo-Fascist yet. As he as actively trying to reach some Christian Zionist goals
Jezuz fuck, having a black-and-white worldview must be so freeing; not having to clutter your beautiful mind with things like FUCKING COMPLEXITY
What do you think about the Nazi’s? Do you know who won the German election in 1933? What about the Spanish civil war? Surely you don’t have a black and white opinion on the Nazi’s like just saying “they are evil for committing Genocide” right?
Godwin’d in 1.
Well, the problem is it isn’t “either/or.” It’s “both or just one.”
Trump will be worse for Palestine, believe it or not. I mean, that isn’t hard to believe, it’s just hard to swallow that those are the choices. But it’s the one we’re stuck with.
Oh that is simply not true. Trump CAN’T be worse for Palestine.
Biden has done every single thing Netanyahu asked him to. After six months of Genocide there are still not a single weapons restriction and Biden is rushing as many weapons as he can to israel. And Biden condones every single one of the Genocidal war crimes openly. And vetoes any condemnation of israel.
The worst Trump can do is the same as Biden.
That’s a naive thing to think. Beyond naive.
Biden is actually kind of concerned with trying to appear like he cares. He kinda has to. It’s for selfish reasons, of course, he is still a politician. But Democratic voters aren’t just rank-n-file voters like republicans. And they’re not all wanting the most cruel thing to happen. Republicans voters almost universally are.
The US supports Israel. Like, the country. The machinery. Not Biden or trump or even Bernie, in that hypothetical situation. It’s a massive moneyed machine that probably just one dude couldn’t decide to stop—even if that person were president.
I’d vote for another country too, for another order, if I could. But we can’t. You’re voting for genocide or genocide. But one of those genocides comes with a slew of other problems for vulnerable communities at home. And that same one comes with a petulant fascist with harm on the brain and a rabid fan base wanting to tear trans people limb from limb and stick women back in the 1940s and just open up he earth and suck out whatever regardless of the consequences. We have minutes until midnight on the climate emergency. Even a slow descent into turmoil is better than throwing everything we can into the fires.
Being a one-issue voter, especially in 2024, is so incredibly shortsighted and…I’m sorry, but selfish. You’re willing to throw MORE Palestinians, trans people, women, the environment all into the shitpile for, I’m sorry, your personal sense of purity.
We all get it, what is happening in Palestine is beyond horrifying. It’s genocide. No argument, there. But even a president who has to make a few speeches and small demands on how Israel is “starting to concern” or whatever gestures Biden has to make for optics, is better than a vindictive, bloodthirsty bigot who will, believe it or not, be more cruel if and when he can. That shouldn’t be hard to believe, but it is hard to wrap your head around when the topic is supporting genocide.
Dude what? Even past hardcore Republicans like George Bush have been far stronger against israel than Biden.
This utter delusion that Biden can’t do anything to stop israel is some Blue Maga mental gymnastics.
Biden is ideologically motivated to support this Genocide. He is willing to throw away the entire election for it.
There is literally a video of Trump bragging to random Jews in Mar a Lago that he got them more Palestinian land during his presidency. Trump’s only criticisms have been delusions that “October 7th wouldn’t have happened because Hamas wouldn’t dare piss me off” and telling Israelis “You guys have to fix the optics of what you’re doing because you are losing public support.” He doesn’t give a fuck about the genocide - he just wants it done more quietly so fewer people notice and get upset.
Trump would be more inclined to escalate.
In fact, Trump has said Israel should escalate. I believe the phrase he used was “finish the job”.
Trump says Israel has to get war in Gaza over ‘fast’ and warns it is ‘losing the PR war’
“Get it over with and let’s get back to peace and stop killing people. And that’s a very simple statement,” Trump said. “They have to get it done. Get it over with and get it over with fast because we have to – you have to get back to normalcy and peace.”
“They’re releasing the most heinous, most horrible tapes of buildings falling down. And people are imagining there’s a lot of people in those buildings, or people in those buildings, and they don’t like it,” he added. “They’re losing the PR war. They’re losing it big. But they’ve got to finish what they started, and they’ve got to finish it fast, and we have to get on with life.”
