Mehdi’s Memo on the results of our new poll on Gaza and Iran

  • @[email protected]
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    8312 days ago

    The biggest thing Biden could do to help him beat trump is stop funding a genocide…

    Instead he’s talking about protestors like trump was during BLM.

    It’s like Biden’s living some kind of Brewster’s Millions and we’re all John Candy.

      • @[email protected]
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        211 days ago

        That’s not really true. Youth campaign workers have been reporting Gaza as the biggest issue in getting people to commit to voting for Biden. This chart as well makes it clear that stopping offensive aid would be popular among the people available to vote for him, (still looking and not completely opposed to voting D)

            • a lil bee 🐝
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              11 days ago

              They do a straight comparison of sympathies between Gaza and Israel further down the article. Look for the graph with the title “Sympathies in the Middle East Situation, by Party ID and Age”.

              It’s been an exhausting day for me on this thread and frankly, it’s not worth it anymore. I’ve had a person threaten suicide multiple times, a person just randomly start belittling for no reason, and a large chunk of people who just refuse to read articles. Gonna tap out of this one, so you all take what you will from the articles and I’ll just leave it there.

              • @[email protected]
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                -311 days ago

                I’m sorry but that’s not saying what you think it is. Democrats in that section go 43 for Palestinians and 35 for Israel with a similar youth breakdown. And that’s still not Gaza. I didn’t see a section for Gaza.

      • @[email protected]
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        511 days ago

        While it’s great there was eventually a line…

        That’s a pause that can end at any moment, and it only effects 1 ton smart bombs.

        Something that there is just no plausible way can be used in accordance with international law is an urban setting.

        And the cynic in me can’t help but notice Israel just flat out doesn’t need these for their genocide. If you wanted to pick something for the optics that has no negative effect on Israel, this is right up there with sanctioning random settlers

        If Biden wants props, the opportunity for him to do the right thing is coming.

        It also comes as the Biden administration is due to deliver a first-of-its-kind formal verdict this week on whether the airstrikes on Gaza and restrictions on delivery of aid have violated international and U.S. laws designed to spare civilians from the worst horrors of war. A decision against Israel would further add to pressure on Biden to curb the flow of weapons and money to Israel’s military.

        Which is why nows the time to be making news and demanding he do the morally right thing and acknowledge reality

            • @[email protected]
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              411 days ago

              It’s disappointing, but the article just says it’s been delayed. Also, I’m trying to share news, just the same as you. My only bias is anti-Trump. That does not mean I’m pro-Biden. If he fails me, I call him out like a responsible citizen.

              • theprogressivist
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                11 days ago

                Seems the chucklefuck you’re responding to isn’t here for discourse. He’s here to smear biden in every way possible. Being critical of Biden is a must. But if you were to take a look at the guys comment history, he is clearly pushing an agenda. I mean, he downvoted you after you said you’d call Biden out if he fails you. And he/she avoids anything that contradicts his/her narrative.

                • @[email protected]
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                  311 days ago

                  Yeah. It does seem that way. I’ve already seen some shit-stirring from them. I believe we owe electors no loyalty. They owe us representation.

                  Regardless, they’re right about the delay in ruling. The article I linked was updated this afternoon as well. According to AP, which I trust more than their source, the ruling was only delayed and is still expected this week. Let’s hope Biden does the right thing.

      • @[email protected]
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        511 days ago

        Not voting for Biden is not a vote for Trump. For many young voters it’s a choice between Biden or 3rd party, because voting for Trump is out of the question. This is a matter of whether Biden cares about being vote-worthy himself, or if he will continue to prioritize his “Israel First” pro-genocidal strategy above winning the presidency. The fault of Biden’s inevitable upcoming loss is entirely his own, stop trying to blame voters for Biden’s garbage policies.

        • @NuXCOM_90Percent
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          711 days ago

          Like it or not (I for one do not), we live in a country where only two parties matter for the presidential election (third parties DO matter for state and even congress. just not executive).

          If you are (American) left leaning and you vote Green party over Democrat? You are one less vote for the Democrats which is one more vote for the republicans when the math breaks down.

          Younger folk (and older folk) don’t understand that because we do a horrifically bad job of teaching social studies in high school and tv shows love to emphasize “douche and a turd sandwich” logic to encourage abstaining.

          Honestly? Fuck Biden. I have had serious issues with him ever since he was a wannabe cop pushing some really horrible drug legislation. But he is a Democrat and isn’t trump. It is as simple as that. Maybe he won’t help on a lot of issues I care about. He will help on a lot of other issues I do.

          Which gets back down to it: if Palestine is the only issue you care about and the only issue anyone you care about cares about? Congrats, you won the privilege lottery and can skip the election. Otherwise? We have two candidates who basically have the same stance on Palestine and Israel (give money to the military industrial complex above all else). But they differ drastically on a LOT of other issues and a LOT of people will be harmed.

          So if trans rights or women’s rights or even continuing to be a democracy-ish haven’t “earned your vote”? What does that say about you?

          • macabrett[they/them]
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            11 days ago

            “If you don’t vote for exactly one candidate, democracy dies”

            I think democracy’s already dead

            • @NuXCOM_90Percent
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              1011 days ago

              I mean, if we don’t do anything (and signs are we won’t, even if Biden wins)… yeah.

              But it is still harm minimization. It is another few years for people to live and not be persecuted because of the sex organs they were born with.

              • macabrett[they/them]
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                811 days ago

                Except this is already happening where I live. And will continue to happen where I live under Biden. And will continue to not happen in blue states where it’s not currently happening. You are deeply unserious if you think Biden is going to do shit for women or trans people. You’ll have better luck pressuring Biden and the DNC to do something other than their current strategy than convincing the millions of people who ALREADY live in the reality you seem so afraid of.

                • @NuXCOM_90Percent
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                  011 days ago

                  If you genuinely think nothing will change regardless of who is president and who has the power to veto the batshit insane stuff republicans are pushing forward AND don’t understand why losing even more supreme court seats will fucks us over massively*: Watch the fucking news and actually listen to what republicans are campaigning on.

                  *: Because while I am still fucking angry at the Democrats for never codifying it and RBG for being too selfish to step down when she should, understand that the massive wave of abortion bans are a direct result of trump’s supreme court appointees

              • @[email protected]
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                411 days ago

                My 2020 harm reduction vote for Joseph Biden resulted in roe getting shredded with 0 pushback and whole hog support for Palestinian eradication. Will not be making that mistake again!

            • @[email protected]
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              11 days ago

              So your current voting options are

              1. The guy who is currently allowing a genocide to occur or even helping to perpetuate it, but could potentially be persuaded to take steps against it

              2. Vote for 3rd party candidates or abstain from voting so that you can pat yourself on the back and say “I didn’t vote for genocide” even though that option doesn’t have a snowballs chance in hell of winning (no matter how much we wish that were the case)

              3. The guy who is fully in support of the genocide and would very much like to support more genocides given the chance

              And that’s not even touching on basically every other issue where candidate 1 is also far better (or at least much less bad) than candidate 3.

              Voting for 2 takes votes primarily from candidate 1, candidate 3’s supporters by and large have no intention of jumping ship no matter what. So you’re effectively taking votes away from the one candidate who has any chance of winning that we might be able to talk out of genocide, and allowing candidate 3 to win so he can do even more genocide.

              I’ve voted 3rd party nearly every opportunity I’ve had for most of my adult life, and I hope at some point we return to some level of sanity and I can feel safe resuming that. Right now, we are faced with 2 possible outcomes, bad and cartoonishly evil, whatever thoughts you have about this being the year of the 3rd party candidate are delusional, the movement just isn’t there right now, and while normally I’d be all about the idea of a protest vote, you only get the one vote, and would you rather use it to send a message, or to actually avoid the worst outcome?

              Perfect, as they say, is the enemy of good.

            • @NuXCOM_90Percent
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              -211 days ago

              So trans genocide doesn’t matter to you? Neither does the further eroding of women’s rights?

              Got it.

            • @[email protected]
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              -311 days ago

              That’s good, we can get the Muslim ban guy back in. He says Israel should, “finish the job,” with peace talks, I’m sure! Good job, buddy, you did it. You ended the genocide by choosing the authoritarian who ran on a campaign of racism. Authoritarian governments would never accelerate or intensify the invasions of foreign countries.

          • @[email protected]
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            -411 days ago

            It’s not a 2 party system, it’s a corporate uni-party and they’re all being paid by AIPAC to let the genocide continue. It’s disgusting, and for this reason alone I won’t support either of those parties. If either party cares about politics at all, more than their donor money, then a sizable vote for green/PSL should register with them and force them to adjust their campaigning in ‘28, or else they’ll lose power rapidly as 3rd parties gain momentum. From this perspective, which you clearly don’t understand, voting for either R or D is throwing a vote away. Voting for a better alternative is not giving a vote to Trump, that is the simpleton turd sandwich framing which you’ve just desparaged. This blames voters, and it’s wrong - Biden is losing these votes all by himself.

            I’d like to briefly address your last comment as well. Democrats have had numerous opportunities in the last 20 years to codify Roe into law, and they chose not to do so. Instead, they wanted to fear monger over republicans taking away women’s bodily autonomy and fundraise off of it. All the while, manufacturing consent for the republicans to do just that. It’s very leopards ate my face to act surprised about this, and disingenuous at best to claim democrats are some kind of women’s rights champions. If you’re at all interested in a leader who will actually safeguard women, cis or trans, vote for Jill Stein this November.

            • The Octonaut
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              111 days ago

              Imagine being so privileged as to be able to just deal with 4 years of Trump in the hope that somehow the message heard will be “oop should’ve given us a better candidate, Dems!” and not “well fuck we’d better go even further right to keep up”.

              • macabrett[they/them]
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                711 days ago

                Imagine being so privileged that you don’t already live in a state where all the things being fear-mongered about to support Biden are already happening.

              • @[email protected]
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                411 days ago

                Imagine being so privileged that the marginal difference between Trump and Biden even makes a difference to you.

              • @[email protected]
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                311 days ago

                Imagine being able to prosecute Trump 3 years ago, but waiting until ‘24 to try and make it political (and show your hand that you were never serious about holding the elite accountable to begin with). Keep “looking forward, not backward” and never learn a damn thing.

            • @[email protected]
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              011 days ago

              There won’t be a sizable vote for the third party, though. Stein got 1% in 2016. That’s a rounding error. There will never be a sizable vote for a third party as long as we have FPTP.

              They don’t give a shit about third party votes at all. The only thing that would actually get their attention is young adults consistently and reliably coming out to vote in every election.

              Hopefully you are able to vote again in 2028. I know mommy and daddy’s money must be sheltering you from needing to worry about losing your rights, but the guy has already done one insurrection. It is actually looking pretty grim.

            • @[email protected]
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              -211 days ago

              Voting for a better alternative is not giving a vote to Trump

              Incorrect.

              First Past the Post says fuck you, and First Past the Post is the reality. Until we change the voting system, third parties will never gain momentum. It is statistically impossible. You may as well get hit by a meteor while turning in your winning Powerball ticket.

              Oh, and nevermind that if Trump wins, none of this will matter. All future “elections” will be won by a Republican with 110% of the vote

      • @[email protected]
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        12 days ago

        That Harvard link shows 34% percent of respondents issues considered it the most important…

        But like, there’s a fundamental misunderstanding here, and I’m going to try and clear it up.

        So generally speaking:

        What will help the most is often not what most people consider to the most important issue.

        Like, if everyone had it as their number 1, 2, or 3 but it wasn’t the most popular number 1?

        It might still be the one thing that helps the most despite not being the most popular number 1 response.

        Does that make sense?

        Lots of people miss that when talking statistics. And since that first link has nothing to do with what I’m talking about, I’m assuming that’s what’s going on here.

        It’s also not accounting for which repsondants were already voting for Biden when talking about most important single issue.

        You think the pro trump respondents give a shit or will vote Biden for any reason?

        Why is what they consider most important relevant to what we’re talking about?

        • a lil bee 🐝
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          112 days ago

          You responded to the wrong person. I can reply here though, no worries.

          You’re reading that 34% stat incorrectly. It is not saying that 34% of young people view that as the most important issue, they are saying that when asked about it when put head to head with another issue from that list, it only won 34% of the time. I believe that difference also mostly accounts for your 2nd/3rd choice dynamic as well, because it would have also been paired with those other topics and lost accordingly. Look at the other scores on that list. It’s clear that this conflict is not the primary driver of the election season right now.

          Now, I’d love to see more stats, but between this and that recent Gallup poll, I’m going to start needing affirmative evidence in the other direction before I just start making leaps. For what it’s worth, I also find this conflict heinous. Israel is committing horrific war crimes. Global policy never outperforms domestic issues though. Caring about your own survival is human nature, so I kind of expect it.

          Keep on advocating for Palestine and Gaza. I will be as well. Just don’t expect to be able to hold the election over their heads as leverage, because it’s becoming increasingly clear that leverage doesn’t exist.

          • @[email protected]
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            12 days ago

            You’re reading that 34% stat incorrectly. It is not saying that 34% of young people view that as the most important issue, they are saying that when asked about it when put head to head with another issue from that list, it only won 34% of the time.

            No, I get that.

            But if everyone’s second choice for dinner is pizza, that might be the choice that gets the most people on board even if it’s no one’s first pick.

            The demographics Biden struggles with the most from the Dem voting base care about this.

            And Biden barely beat trump last time, he can’t afford to keep funding a damn genocide.

            • a lil bee 🐝
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              012 days ago

              The demographic Biden struggles most with isn’t young people and beside that point, every demographic is unique. Young people are impossible to please. Not individually, but as a demographic, they are inconsistent, fickle, wrathful, and fairly apathetic. I’m still in this demographic and it wouldn’t be my first stop for a reliable election winner. Then look at the Gallup poll I sent and think about this purely from a campaigning perspective. How does playing to the youth on Gaza win you anything? Frankly, it looks like the math is stacked against us on this.

              I still think we should fight for this. I still think there should be protests, demonstrations, campaigning for more ethical candidates. I no longer think trying to win this through selling it as a carrot or stick for winning the election is going to work though. The electorate just cares way, way more about economics and Biden (from a campaigning perspective) would be much more well-suited to focusing on that.

              • @[email protected]
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                12 days ago

                The demographic Biden struggles most with isn’t young people

                Then what demographic do you think it is?

                I’m talking the standard demographics, unless you have some ultra specific one like “people who oppose funding genocide” I don’t know what you mean.

                Young people are impossible to please.

                Not for Obama.

                And they turned out in 2016 when all they knew about Biden was he used to be Obam’s VP.

                Just because they don’t like “moderate” neoliberals or republicans don’t mean they don’t like anyone.

                Hell, when I was young I liked Bill Clinton just because he gave you g voters the time of day.

                Standards are fucking low, it’s just Hillary and Biden didn’t try.

                Historically the youth vote is very important, we can’t just give up on the whole demographic because they don’t like moderates. They’re the fucking future of the party, we need to actively go after them. I don’t expect Biden to bust out a sax solo live on MTV like Bill did.

                But he’s not trying to reach out at all.

                • a lil bee 🐝
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                  12 days ago

                  Then what demographic do you think it is?

                  Older white men, the core republican demographic. Inside of the general democratic camp, it would likely be older Latino males right now, but I would need to refresh my stats.

                  Not for Obama.

                  You’re joking, right? Ask any young person today what their thoughts on Obama are and you’re gonna hear “drone strikes” first thing. The electoral politics of 2024 are vastly different than the ones in 2012, especially with young people. The way social media delivers news and raw footage to people, especially the youth who know how to operate it best, has completely altered the relationship between foreign policy and PR at home. Obama would be skewered today, and I’m surprised that someone on the left is even holding him up as an example for Biden to follow in foreign policy maneuvers.

                  Historical the youth vote is very important, we can’t just give up on the whole demographic because they don’t like moderates. They’re the fucking future of the party, we need to actively go after them. I don’t expect Biden to bust out a sac solo live on MTV like Bill did.

                  Totally agree, but I do wish we could get the sax solo. (Sac solo is also a hilarious typo given the Bill Clinton proximity)

                  But he’s not trying to reach out at all.

                  Don’t agree, and here’s exhibit A of my comment above. He has forgiven as many student loans as seemingly possible with the current court structure and he has made climate change a high priority. Those are both targeted directly at the youth. He’s trying. Now, he might be failing, but why? Because a crisis has occurred that the youth feels incredibly strongly about, and they are one of the most uncompromising demographics. Most other demographics will remember those earlier wins and put the ones they lose in larger context. The youth is uncompromising, which is both their largest strength and weakness.

                  For what it’s worth, I’m not trying to argue with you on the broader topic of whether the younger demo is worth pursuing. Technology and political degradation is just going to consistently put the youth demo at odds with the raw math of campaigning, and that’s something I worry about. I don’t want any of what I’m saying to be true, but I worry that it is.

        • @NuXCOM_90Percent
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          12 days ago

          I did not claim it is not an important issue.

          What I continue to assert is: if you ACTUALLY care about the Palestinian people, will trump be better for them? Because if you don’t vote for Biden you are effectively voting for trump because of how we handle elections.

          And if Palestine is the only issue you care about… you are an incredibly privileged person who only cares about incredibly privileged people. But, again, do you honestly think trump would be better for Palestine?

          • WalrusDragonOnABike [they/them]
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            11 days ago

            If people threated to kill all your family if you didn’t kill one of them yourself, killing any of your family members doesn’t prove you ACTUALLY care about your family. Not everyone subscribes to outcome-based utilitarianism. If you do, cool for you. But there’s plenty of competing ethical frameworks people have and plenty of people don’t subscribe to any specific frameworks consistently, but still have rules that they believe shouldn’t be viable.

            But, again, do you honestly think trump would be better for Palestine?

            It could go either way, but probably would be worse in the short-term. Trump is such a baby that he could get mad over some slight offense (or unwillingness to participate in some form of corruption he demands of them) and decide he doesn’t want to play with Israel anymore and he’s already shown he has no problem withholding approved weapon spending (even if illegal to do so). Not saying its likely, but Biden, is pretty much certain continuation of funding genocide, and possibly an escalation of that involvement when he no longer has to worry about re-election.

            Edit: fixed typo: made->mad

            • @[email protected]
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              211 days ago

              It would not go either way, buddy.

              Donald threatened Iran with nuclear weapons. Donald tried to ban Muslims from the country. Donald wants Israel to finish the job. The Repubs, who usually have oppositional defiant disorder about everything the Dems do, want to arm Israel.

              You can be smug as you like about choosing not to touch the switch on this trolley problem. But please pull your head out of the sand about what will happen.

            • @NuXCOM_90Percent
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              -212 days ago

              Not going to touch that example with a ten foot pole but:

              If your ethics require you to take a pointless moral stand that accomplishes nothing for the people you claim to care about? Cool. Have fun.

              This is not the trolley problem where you are deciding if one person or ten people die. This is a case where that same one person is going to die either way but the other ten can be saved.

              • @[email protected]
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                411 days ago

                If your ethics require you to take a pointless moral stand that accomplishes nothing for the people you claim to care about?

                It’s only pointless if a few people do it…

                Like literally every social change, including voting.

                If enough people say “I can’t vote for Biden because of his support of Israel” then a rational candidate would appease their voters, at least till after the election.

                If the candidate refuses to do that…

                Whats the point in voting for someone who openly refuses to care what their voting base wants?

                You’re mad at the wrong person here. Be mad at Biden for putting Israel over America, when according to your opinion, Israel wouldn’t have an issue continuing genocide with trump in office.

                Think about Biden’s refusal to listen to voters and that for a minute.

                He cares more about Israel than America.

                • @NuXCOM_90Percent
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                  11 days ago

                  Okay. What does not voting for Biden and letting trump win do for Palestine?

                  is the orange fuckface going to say “Oh wow. I only won because Biden handled Palestine so poorly. Let me go fight for the rights of ‘muslims’”?

                  OH! I know. The Democrats will decide they need to do better during the next election as we lose even more supreme court judges and the next election never happens (as per gop plan). But hey, maybe a few Palestinians will be alive in four to infinity years.

          • @[email protected]
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            11 days ago

            So you think regardless of amount of protest…

            Biden just will never listen to the voters who put him in office?

            Sounds like a candidate voters won’t turn out for, and when turnout is low, republicans win.

            If we can’t get a better candidate, and get push our only option left…

            How is it voters fault for disengaging?

            Like, you’re arguing from the point that Biden listening to voters is impossible, while telling voter they need to put in effort to elect him again after he disappointed us from last time.

            I just don’t see how someone could make the same arguments months away from the primary ending…

            And deciding the best course of action is to not only keep Biden, but completely give up on dragging him to the left so he stands a chance

            I just don’t get it

            • @NuXCOM_90Percent
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              11 days ago

              There are things Biden will listen on. There are things he won’t. The past 30 years or so have made it clear that Israel is not something he will listen on.

              But I am not a single issue voter. There are a lot of issues I care about. And I agree with Biden on many of those.

              By all means. Protest. But when it comes time to vote? Fucking vote.

              I could MAYBE understand this if trump were out there talking about Palestinian human rights (I am sure we could find a hot Palestinian for him to assault…). But he isn’t. He is going to be just as bad, if not worse.

              Primaries and every day but election day is about fighting for what you want. Election day is about minimizing harm. Welcome to being an adult. And if “voters” don’t understand that then yes, I do blame them (and us as a people).

              • @[email protected]
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                211 days ago

                But I am not a single issue voter.

                Hardly anyone is…

                “Single issue voter” is bullshit to fracture a unified base that’s rallied around one cause. Absolutely none of them literally only care about this and nothing else.

                It’s just when lots of average people rally around one common issue, change can happen.

                So the people in power try to fracture that unified base and find something they disagree with.

                It’s all basic psychology. If you stop and think why that always comes up when there’s a large movement for one issue, it’s really obvious

                • @NuXCOM_90Percent
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                  11 days ago

                  If nobody cares about only one issue then why are people talking about pissing a vote away because:

                  • Both candidates have basically the same stance on their number one issue
                  • They are too lazy to look at any of their other issues

                  But yeah. I agree that nobody is actually a single issue voter. Which is why it is important to understand there is more than one issue at play here.

                  Change CAN happen if the two parties have a different stance. republicans got CLOBBERED because a shocking amount of their base actually care about abortion rights. Democrats have not done anywhere near what they fucking should on that front, but they are the pro human rights party… when it comes to that.

                  In this case? Both parties have the same stance. It isn’t like letting trump win will at all help the Palestinian people.

          • a lil bee 🐝
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            212 days ago

            They were responding to me instead of you and just clicked the wrong comment I think, just to give them some grace. I would wait for a comment addressed to yours specifically because they may have a different framing.

        • @NuXCOM_90Percent
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          -612 days ago

          That’s nice.

          But considering the US is a two party system at the presidential level: You are effectively voting for the candidate you otherwise wouldn’t if you abstain. So maybe grow up a bit and look at the issues that Biden and trump are actually going to differ on?

            • @NuXCOM_90Percent
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              -212 days ago

              I’m not going to joke about that.

              I AM going to say that maybe you should consider the actual impact of your vote or lack thereof.

              • queermunist she/her
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                -212 days ago

                I am not fucking joking.

                If the only choices are to vote for genocide, then I should vote like Aaron Bushnell. I deserve it.

                • @NuXCOM_90Percent
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                  12 days ago

                  Obligatory: If you are at all considering suicide, seek help. Call your national/regional hotline, etc.

                  Also: What do you think you are even accomplishing? You are screaming like a child that the world should reconfigure itself to what you want or else you will kill yourself.

                  if you ACTUALLY want to make a difference? Get involved with local politics. The president can’t actually do much. Even trump is largely an ineffective figurehead. The reason he was so devastating is because the bushes and reagan were so devastating before him. And, in large part, republicans accomplish that by taking over school boards and focusing on local elections so that they can gerrymander and usurp democracy.

                  We, as Liberals and Leftists, need to fight back. And that means getting involved with local politics. Do you hate that your Senator is a DINO dipshit? Work with local politics and the Democratic Party to get more left leaning youngsters onto the ballot. Make sure your state government is full of people who will fight back against election fraud. And so forth.

                  Because Gaza? We, as a planet, abandoned them decades ago. This is the result. I would like to think there is a way we could help them but every day’s horrors make me increasingly convinced that the time to do that was the 90s and 00s. But we CAN help the next Gaza.


                  To US folk who actually DO want to make a difference? Seriously, contact your local Democratic Party. Even Bernie realized he couldn’t accomplish much on his own (after a couple decades) and joined up. Yes, the Democrats are notoriously ineffective and lean more centrist than left. But that is why we have to work with them. We need to shift the party line left (and it actually IS a lot more left leaning than it was during Clinton’s administration). And we do that by working year round rather than just turning out to phone bank once every four years.

                • a lil bee 🐝
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                  -312 days ago

                  I think it’s really lame to set up a false dichotomy for people between asking you to vote in the presidential election and asking you to kill yourself. That’s not productive discussion at all and really injects a gross tone into the whole thing. Can we not trivialize suicide as some sort of debate tactic, please?

  • @[email protected]
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    3311 days ago

    A majority of Republican voters also believe Israel is committing genocide, and that they should genocide harder.

  • Infamousblt [any]
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    2212 days ago

    And yet they’ll still turn out to vote for the guys and gals doing the genocide

    • davel [he/him]
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      311 days ago

      Who are they going to convince to canvas for this campaign? They have no grassroots base. Zionists can’t lose because Zionism is the bipartisan Washington consensus, so I doubt they’re especially motivated to canvas.

  • macabrett[they/them]
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    11 days ago

    The only political power you have within America’s political system electoralism is a game of chicken wherein you withhold your vote unless change occurs. If you’re mad at people saying they won’t vote for Biden, I urge you to direct your energy at Biden and the DNC.

    There are other avenues to change, but they get your head bashed in by cops, so I’m confident the people tut-tutting about voting will never get involved at that level. Must feel great to ignore the devastating impact of American foreign policy just because it doesn’t happen near you!

    • davel [he/him]
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      11 days ago

      The only political power you have within America’s political system

      Within electoralism, anyway. It’s not the only power we have, it’s just the only one we’re taught, and the only one in corporate media’s Overton window.

      ETA: Thanks to two (now three) red scares, I probably should spell it out for the peanut gallery: Labor power.

      • macabrett[they/them]
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        611 days ago

        Yeah, I agree. I definitely meant “electoralism” where I said “America’s political system”. Thanks for the correction!

      • macabrett[they/them]
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        311 days ago

        Can’t tell if you’re talking about me or about Biden, but I’m not a democrat, so I’ll assume you’re implying that Biden is going to elect Trump and I agree.

    • @[email protected]
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      512 days ago

      In all honesty, it’s not disbelief of facts. This issue really highlights how perspectives completely depend on the news sources consumed. Media bias has become so extreme, that factual reporting comes second to subjective inference.

  • @[email protected]
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    611 days ago

    Well, yes.

    Centrists and progressives both know Netanyahu is committing genocide.

    Progressives oppose it.

    Centrists don’t.

  • @[email protected]
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    11 days ago

    Eh. “A Majority of <Party> Voters” is not that impressive. According to Gallup’s running poll, Democratic Party affiliation is currently at 28%. A slim majority of a minority is… nice? It needs to be reflected strongly among independents and perhaps the opposite party to be reflected in the general population. For comparison, the majority of Republicans think the 2020 election was stolen. This view is not reflected among the general population.

    I actually think a more notable statistic in this poll is the Republicans at 23%. That tells me that reactions to what is happening in Gaza has had a bipartisan effect, which has often not been the case with Israel.

    • @[email protected]
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      411 days ago

      a bipartisan effect, which has often not been the case with Israel.

      Unconditional Support for Israel is absolutely bipartisan. It’s one of the few bipartisan issues that all 3 branches of government agree on. The other being unlimited funding for MIC projects.

  • @[email protected]
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    11 days ago

    He and his party are doing the calculus and figuring that they’ll do better supporting Israel because, frankly, where else are those voters going to go? Trump? He’d nuke Gaza if Netanyahu co-signed a loan for him.

    Democratic voters need to vote blue no matter who, and then primary out the corporatist candidates at the earliest opportunity.

    This has to be a two-pronged effort: keep the Republicans out of office permanently, and clean the Democratic slate from within.

    • @[email protected]
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      1611 days ago

      This is really the only strategy and we’ve seen how incredibly effective it has been as the GOP changes into rabid racists.

      But better democrats can’t employ exactly the same strategy as their far right insurgent counterparts, because we’re not racists assholes trying to undermine democracy.

    • @[email protected]
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      411 days ago

      where false are those voters going to go? Trump? He’d nuke Gaza if Netanyahu consigned a loan for him.

      There are a disturbing number of people who give no shits about this and instead think not voting for Biden will send a productive message.

      • @[email protected]
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        11 days ago

        It is sadly funny when you think about it.

        Biden loses

        Democrat politicians: “Oh no, we only have all of our wealth to protect us from the worst effects of the US falling into a fascist hellscape. Those voters sure showed us!”

        • @[email protected]
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          211 days ago

          I mean there’s a reason “cut off your nose to spite your face” is a saying about being super wise and practical

      • @[email protected]
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        -211 days ago

        What’s even scarier is those same people seem completely oblivious to the alternative, which is Mr. “Muslim Ban, Shithole Countries, I like Jewish people counting my money, I’d just nuke the whole place” Trump.

        Like, your problem is genocide and you’ll basically pave the road for the candidate that explicitly said they’d do a genocide, and whose supporters would cheer him on as the missiles launched, over one that you have some influence over?

    • @[email protected]
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      411 days ago

      That was what we said in 2020 and here we are. We went backwards from Obama. Either he does the right thing or there have to be consequences.

      • @[email protected]
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        -311 days ago

        I’m sure allowing a manchild narcissist authoritarian insurrectionist to appoint more judges and sell more state secrets will teach Biden and the Dems a big lesson. 1/3 of SCOTUS were installed by an insurrectionist and about 1/2 of the House and Senate are backing an insurrectionist.

        • @[email protected]
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          311 days ago

          Yeah it’s pretty grim. But political parties don’t listen to anything but votes and power. They aren’t benevolent organizations. If they won’t listen to the people who voted for them last time, then voting for them this time just tells them they can ignore you.

            • SUPAVILLAIN
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              11 days ago

              So it’s privileged to oppose genocide, cracker? It’s privileged to turn one’s back on murderers who do nothing for us, cracker? It’s suddenly okay to weaponize disorders I’m certain you’ve never studied, because you’re not getting your omnicidal way, cracker? What’s really astonishing is watching you crackers resort to every libel and slander in the book when the actually civilized world won’t go along with your butchering, cracker.

        • @[email protected]
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          311 days ago

          I agree, the Democrats can do literally anything (up to and including supporting genocide) so long as they’re marginally less bad than Republicans and we should support them for this reason. This strategy has no foreseeable consequences and can only make things better in the long run.

        • @[email protected]
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          010 days ago

          Sounds like Democracy is working as expected? The people want the death of American democracy, you should probably ask yourself why you are so keen on supporting it.

      • @[email protected]
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        -311 days ago

        Yeah, but the consequences is a second Trump administration if you don’t vote for a Democratic candidate for president, and two to four more years of legislative gridlock if the Republicans aren’t reduced to powerless rump.

        Do you want a second Trump administration? Think really hard about that, because the last one vacillated between “Berlusconi-level incompetency” and “Mussolini-level malice”.

        The stakes really are to high to “try to teach Biden and the Democrats a lesson”, and it’s not like corporate Democrats really care, because they’d rather lose to a Republican than get primaried by a progressive and stop the gravy train forever, plus they have this weird idea that if they’re “civil” they won’t find themselves lynched during the American Krystallnacht.

        The problem with not primaring out corporate Democrats is that American voters…didn’t do it. Not that it didn’t work as a strategy, because replacing corporate Republicans with fascist nutjobs is working out just fine. Maybe progressives, or at least progressive Millenials and Gen-Xers, really are too lazy to affect real change?

    • @[email protected]
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      411 days ago

      Wasn’t it determined that the primaries are not a democratic vote, but a suggestion the DNC will keep in mind when they ultimately dictate who will run? The real people who choose are super delegates who are insiders who vote to maintain the status quo. So claiming the primaries are the correct venue would not be correct.

      • @[email protected]
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        411 days ago

        Bernie won a primary. AOC won a primary. Clearly the DNC isn’t all-powerful. We have to get as many progressives in every position that we can.

        • @[email protected]
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          311 days ago

          Specifically not a primary for president. The statement that primaries are the place to make the party change are false and i consider it maliciously so.

          • @[email protected]
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            111 days ago

            President is just one primary of thousands all across the country. All the fascist laws being passed in red states? That’s being done by Republicans at the state level and the president can’t do can’t do anything about it.

              • @[email protected]
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                211 days ago

                I don’t mind if people protest vote during primary elections - that’s what they’re for. Protest voting in a two party system is shooting yourself in the foot unless you like the other guy running.

                • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod
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                  211 days ago

                  I don’t mind if people protest vote during primary elections - that’s what they’re for.

                  This feels a lot like giving your little brother a disconnected controller so he stops bothering you.

  • @[email protected]
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    312 days ago

    I feel like the administration thinks the ends justify the means. Israel is a tactical ally, but at the end of the day how can we not step in and prevent the siege and displacement of innocent Palestinians?