28% of Americans rate economic conditions as excellent or good, a 9 percentage point increase from last April. And the share who say economic conditions will be worse a year from now has fallen during this timespan, from 46% to 33%.
Democracy is when a leader is allowed to facilitate genocide and then threaten his voterbase by saying his opponent is worse and will do the same thing.
I have two alternatives. Cornel West and Jill Stein. I can’t believe I can actually vote for Cornel fucking West this year. At least, if he gets on enough state ballots.
Voting third party is splitting the vote. Give me ranked choice voting and I’ll never make a Neo-lib one of my top choices. But, until then, it’s functionally a binary choice. And right-wingers toe the line, and their line is literal fascism. Easy choice. Shitty, but easy.
That’s entirely beside the point. You think the fascists are more likely to give you ranked choice than the neo-libs? This line of thinking is nonsensical past superficial idealism. What’s your alternative, the greater evil? You think that’s going to magically make the ever-so-sightly-further-left corporate party turn progressive?
How’d that work after 2016? If the wake-up-call strategy was going to work, that would’ve been the time. And oh look, we got a geriatric neo-liberal. Fun.
I’m not going to wager a potential fascist dictatorship against the pipe dream that choosing not to vote is a cheat code that what, unlocks the secret actual Leftist candidate? What’s the praxis here? This is like sovcit levels of batshit copium fantasy.
Edit: Downvotes, but no practical alternatives. Idealistic circle jerking.
Voting for anything but one of the top two parties is pointless, voting for the lesser evil is marginally better than voting for the greater evil, not voting is tacit approval of the greater evil. Please tell me, exactly, how does “not voting for the status quo” improve anything? Not rhetorical. I’m asking.
Do you live in a swing state? Because I don’t. As far as I see it, voting third party won’t have any effect on the election, but might at least signal that I want change. It’s not like the popular vote matters in this country.
Do you really think that eh neo-libs are more likely than the fascists?
Significantly? Hah, no. Mathematically? Yes, absolutely. Extremely unlikely vs. “Oh, you wanted to keep voting? Lol”
Better than your idea.
Which is? I’m waiting.
What’s the praxis here?
What’s yours?
Use every tool I have in the way it can be used. Voting for the lesser of two evils does not preclude literally any other action you could want to do.
Anybody who votes for genocide Joe deserves Trump anyway.
You think Trump would do less Palestinian genocide? He was pretty open about being very pro-Israel and very anti-Palestine. Genocide Trump would be substantially worse for Gaza, and also Ukraine too. That’s what “lesser of two evils” means: yes, Biden is awful, but the alternative is worse.
Until you can show me an actionable alternative, I assume you support increased genocide of Palestinians and genocide of Ukrainians. Because it’s a binary choice, and refusal to choose against any option is tacit approval of every option.
No, their platforms are vastly different. You could argue that Jill Stein and Cornel West are splitting each other’s votes, because they are very similar, but they are both worlds apart from Genocide Joe and Orange Hitler.
The mathematics of First Past the Post elections drastically disincentivizes third parties, to the point of irrelevance. The winner will be one of the top two choices, so the only rational strategy (primarily in swing states, because of the fuckery that is the Electoral College) is voting against the worse of those two option.
Which is to say: when looking at third party options, would those voters be more likely to vote for the worst of the two main options, or the second worst of the two main options? Those are the only two candidates from which splitting votes is pragmatically relevant.
The evidence suggests to me that Orange Hitler is worse than Genocide Joe, since Orange Hitler would likely enable at least the same amount, if not more, Palestinian genocide; while also actively engaging in Ukrainian genocide; while also enabling Project 2025, which fundamentally threatens the thin veneer of democracy the US does have. I am not an accelerationist, I do not think that the probability of revolution it offers is high enough to counteract the probability of descending into fascism.
If you live in a deep red/blue state, then sure, vote third party so they get more visibility and funding, and encourage others in your state to do the same. But otherwise, vote for the second worst of the two main options, and don’t encourage those in swing states to vote third party.
Unless you have a particular arrangement of reproductive organs. Or if you love someone who does.
Biden never passed a federal abortion law and let Roe V Wade get overturned with little to no worthwhile response.
Or if you have particular melanin expressing genes
The Biden admin consistently refuses to tackle problems with a focus on racial justice. Private prisons, migrant camps, oil pipelines on indigenous land all have flourished under Biden.
Or if you don’t subscribe to a certain deity
Butcher Biden is supporting a genocide on Palestinians for the crime of not being the right type of Jewish. Genocide Joe also does nothing to squash the extremist evangelicial movement, many of whom are in congress or state positions.
Or if you think your fellow workers should organize to oppose certain practices of your employer.
US labor laws have always been heavily biased against the workers. Again it was Biden admin who broke the strike of railworkers recently and milquetoast concessions. It was only the hard work of independent unions that workers managed to get concessions.
Or if you have certain medical concerns.
Socialism was made an evil ideology by congress. There is no universal public healthcare program nor price regulation of pharamseuticals. Narcotraficking remains a constant threat to people’s lives.
Or if you have certain precarious housing arrangements.
Biden has done virtually nothing for unhoused people and has instead pushed for bigger police budgets which are a greater threat to exacerbating homelessness than ending it.
Nice little poem which proves my point completely.
Unlike in functioning and prosperous nations like China with their superior socialist economic model and marxist foundations, the USA will continue to decline and terrorize its citizens as well as other nations abroad.
There was no democracy at any point in US history.
Not arguing against that, just pointing out that like it or not, for now that’s the one choice that we have, so concede loss today to fight tomorrow versus surrendering in which tomorrow will never come
Jerrod Kushner had a “peace plan” to kick the Palestinians out of what little they had left in the West Bank and move them to the middle of a barren desert. They dressed it up with “high tech industrial” and other buzz words to make it not look like a naked land grab. Obviously it didn’t get agreed to, but these are the type of people who were empowered under the Trump administration. They would get power again and they are better organized this time to carry out their agenda.
Okay, let’s rewind to the start of this recent spat of violence, 2023-10-07, when Hamas attacked Israeli citizens surrounding the Gaza Strip. Israel pretty quickly started a bombing campaign that has effectively destroyed northern Gaza. What it hasn’t achieved is its stated goal, eliminating Hamas, nor is it close. My guess is that the Biden administration is putting significant pressure on the Israeli government behind the scenes to scale down their invasion, let aid in, and end illegal settlement expansion. They might be using the weapons as a carrot.
Now think of what the Republicans would be doing in the same situation. Push back? No, they would be cheering from the sidelines like they are now. Illegal settlements? They never much worried about them before.
I’m basing it on what I’ve heard out of Congressional Democrats and Republicans. The administration tends to keep tight lip, but Congress is freer with its thoughts. Take the quote from this article:
Some Democratic lawmakers have suggested further significant aid to Israel should be contingent on concrete promises by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to curb civilian casualties in Gaza.
The alternative to harm reduction is… harm increase? Democrats being terrible and Republicans being substantially worse are not mutually exclusive facts. The election is FPTP, lesser evil is always the only rational choice.
Absolutely do everything in your power to facilitate tasteful alternatives between elections, but on election day anything other than voting for the lesser evil is tacit approval of the greater evil. Yeah, it’s a shitty hostage situation, but the alternative is “Fuck the hostages”.
Democracy is when a leader is allowed to facilitate genocide and then threaten his voterbase by saying his opponent is worse and will do the same thing.
Harm reduction candidate is the Blue MAGA.
But… It’s demonstrably true that red MAGA will be worse soo… Got an actual alternative before November? No? Ok.
I have two alternatives. Cornel West and Jill Stein. I can’t believe I can actually vote for Cornel fucking West this year. At least, if he gets on enough state ballots.
Voting third party is splitting the vote. Give me ranked choice voting and I’ll never make a Neo-lib one of my top choices. But, until then, it’s functionally a binary choice. And right-wingers toe the line, and their line is literal fascism. Easy choice. Shitty, but easy.
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That’s entirely beside the point. You think the fascists are more likely to give you ranked choice than the neo-libs? This line of thinking is nonsensical past superficial idealism. What’s your alternative, the greater evil? You think that’s going to magically make the ever-so-sightly-further-left corporate party turn progressive?
How’d that work after 2016? If the wake-up-call strategy was going to work, that would’ve been the time. And oh look, we got a geriatric neo-liberal. Fun.
I’m not going to wager a potential fascist dictatorship against the pipe dream that choosing not to vote is a cheat code that what, unlocks the secret actual Leftist candidate? What’s the praxis here? This is like sovcit levels of batshit copium fantasy.
Edit: Downvotes, but no practical alternatives. Idealistic circle jerking.
The least you can do is not vote for the status quo, but you won’t even do that.
Voting for anything but one of the top two parties is pointless, voting for the lesser evil is marginally better than voting for the greater evil, not voting is tacit approval of the greater evil. Please tell me, exactly, how does “not voting for the status quo” improve anything? Not rhetorical. I’m asking.
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Do you live in a swing state? Because I don’t. As far as I see it, voting third party won’t have any effect on the election, but might at least signal that I want change. It’s not like the popular vote matters in this country.
I live in a blue state. Using that same logic, voting for Biden here is pointless, because the state’s going to go to Biden anyway.
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Significantly? Hah, no. Mathematically? Yes, absolutely. Extremely unlikely vs. “Oh, you wanted to keep voting? Lol”
Which is? I’m waiting.
Use every tool I have in the way it can be used. Voting for the lesser of two evils does not preclude literally any other action you could want to do.
You think Trump would do less Palestinian genocide? He was pretty open about being very pro-Israel and very anti-Palestine. Genocide Trump would be substantially worse for Gaza, and also Ukraine too. That’s what “lesser of two evils” means: yes, Biden is awful, but the alternative is worse.
Until you can show me an actionable alternative, I assume you support increased genocide of Palestinians and genocide of Ukrainians. Because it’s a binary choice, and refusal to choose against any option is tacit approval of every option.
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No, their platforms are vastly different. You could argue that Jill Stein and Cornel West are splitting each other’s votes, because they are very similar, but they are both worlds apart from Genocide Joe and Orange Hitler.
The mathematics of First Past the Post elections drastically disincentivizes third parties, to the point of irrelevance. The winner will be one of the top two choices, so the only rational strategy (primarily in swing states, because of the fuckery that is the Electoral College) is voting against the worse of those two option.
Which is to say: when looking at third party options, would those voters be more likely to vote for the worst of the two main options, or the second worst of the two main options? Those are the only two candidates from which splitting votes is pragmatically relevant.
The evidence suggests to me that Orange Hitler is worse than Genocide Joe, since Orange Hitler would likely enable at least the same amount, if not more, Palestinian genocide; while also actively engaging in Ukrainian genocide; while also enabling Project 2025, which fundamentally threatens the thin veneer of democracy the US does have. I am not an accelerationist, I do not think that the probability of revolution it offers is high enough to counteract the probability of descending into fascism.
If you live in a deep red/blue state, then sure, vote third party so they get more visibility and funding, and encourage others in your state to do the same. But otherwise, vote for the second worst of the two main options, and don’t encourage those in swing states to vote third party.
Neither candidate will fundamentally change anything. The US has always been an unsustainable broken oligarchy based on robbing others.
This is just the consequences of such a system, a slow painful decline.
Unless you have a particular arrangement of reproductive organs. Or if you love someone who does.
Or if you have particular melanin expressing genes.
Or if you don’t subscribe to a certain deity.
Or if you think your fellow workers should organize to oppose certain practices of your employer.
Or if you have certain medical concerns.
Or if you have certain precarious housing arrangements.
Biden never passed a federal abortion law and let Roe V Wade get overturned with little to no worthwhile response.
The Biden admin consistently refuses to tackle problems with a focus on racial justice. Private prisons, migrant camps, oil pipelines on indigenous land all have flourished under Biden.
Butcher Biden is supporting a genocide on Palestinians for the crime of not being the right type of Jewish. Genocide Joe also does nothing to squash the extremist evangelicial movement, many of whom are in congress or state positions.
US labor laws have always been heavily biased against the workers. Again it was Biden admin who broke the strike of railworkers recently and milquetoast concessions. It was only the hard work of independent unions that workers managed to get concessions.
Socialism was made an evil ideology by congress. There is no universal public healthcare program nor price regulation of pharamseuticals. Narcotraficking remains a constant threat to people’s lives.
Biden has done virtually nothing for unhoused people and has instead pushed for bigger police budgets which are a greater threat to exacerbating homelessness than ending it.
Nice little poem which proves my point completely.
Unlike in functioning and prosperous nations like China with their superior socialist economic model and marxist foundations, the USA will continue to decline and terrorize its citizens as well as other nations abroad.
There was no democracy at any point in US history.
Not arguing against that, just pointing out that like it or not, for now that’s the one choice that we have, so concede loss today to fight tomorrow versus surrendering in which tomorrow will never come
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I think i’ll fight at the ballot box by not supporting the parties that benefit from the status quo.
no it isnt. same policies, one side is just more polite about it.
yall still dont have healthcare, cmon
Jerrod Kushner had a “peace plan” to kick the Palestinians out of what little they had left in the West Bank and move them to the middle of a barren desert. They dressed it up with “high tech industrial” and other buzz words to make it not look like a naked land grab. Obviously it didn’t get agreed to, but these are the type of people who were empowered under the Trump administration. They would get power again and they are better organized this time to carry out their agenda.
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Okay, let’s rewind to the start of this recent spat of violence, 2023-10-07, when Hamas attacked Israeli citizens surrounding the Gaza Strip. Israel pretty quickly started a bombing campaign that has effectively destroyed northern Gaza. What it hasn’t achieved is its stated goal, eliminating Hamas, nor is it close. My guess is that the Biden administration is putting significant pressure on the Israeli government behind the scenes to scale down their invasion, let aid in, and end illegal settlement expansion. They might be using the weapons as a carrot.
Now think of what the Republicans would be doing in the same situation. Push back? No, they would be cheering from the sidelines like they are now. Illegal settlements? They never much worried about them before.
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I’m basing it on what I’ve heard out of Congressional Democrats and Republicans. The administration tends to keep tight lip, but Congress is freer with its thoughts. Take the quote from this article:
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The alternative to harm reduction is… harm increase? Democrats being terrible and Republicans being substantially worse are not mutually exclusive facts. The election is FPTP, lesser evil is always the only rational choice.
Absolutely do everything in your power to facilitate tasteful alternatives between elections, but on election day anything other than voting for the lesser evil is tacit approval of the greater evil. Yeah, it’s a shitty hostage situation, but the alternative is “Fuck the hostages”.