• Tinidril@midwest.social
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    11 months ago

    It’s way out of proportion to the tiny percentage of the politically active left that doesn’t vote or doesn’t vote Democratic. It’s a feel-good virtue-signaling that does nothing but validate the lame excuses the establishment uses every time they lose to a fascist.

    Despite the noise you see online (from people who’s mind you won’t change) leftists overwhelmingly hold their noses and pull the Democrat lever every 4 years. We don’t need to be reminded of how much it sucks every damn day.

    It’s the ordinary non-policy-wonks that stay home on election day, and it’s pathetic Democrats that make that happen. Sane Americans have checked out of the process because they don’t see the point and have better things to do. They also aren’t here to be preached at.

    You don’t need the left to show up to vote. We already do that. You need us donating to campaigns, passing out flyers, making phone calls, and countering the endless flow of bullshit from the right, and all the other things that you aren’t doing because you are here feeling good about preaching to the choir.

    The Democrats have my vote, but I can’t stomach doing the establishment’s work anymore. Just once I would like to be able to confront a rightist and not have them be able to counter with accusations of elitism and corruption that are absolutely true. Just once I would like to explain to someone how the Democrats actually will help them figure out how to get out from under a mountain of debt. I just don’t have whatever it takes to advance campaigns of grift, elitist bluster, and empty promises.

    • Pratai
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      11 months ago

      12 percent of Bernie’s supporters stayed home in 2020.

      • go_go_gadget@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        You mean the voters who didn’t show up to vote for Hillary Clinton didn’t show up for Joe Biden? How could they??

        Where’s your ire for the people who voted for Biden in the primaries and fucked over progressive and leftist efforts hm? No lectures for them?

      • Tinidril@midwest.social
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        11 months ago

        You got the talking point wrong. 12% of Bernie’s supporters voted for Trump, but that doesn’t mean what you think. This has been analyzed into the ground. Bernie attracted the left, but he also attracted generally anti-establishment centrists. The Democrats lost those votes by going with Mr. Establishment, just like they lost them with Mrs. Establishment 4 years prior.

        The ENTIRE argument for Biden in the primary was that he could get pro-establishment centrists to beat Trump. Are we now being told that being able to reach voters that other Democrats can’t is a bad thing? (By the way, pro-establishment centrists barely exist, but that’s another issue.)

        Now look at how many Hillary supporters voted for McCain instead of Obama.

        https://acbc89.medium.com/more-sanders-voters-backed-clinton-than-her-own-supporters-backed-obama-c5dc37658fe5

        • Pratai
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          11 months ago

          It’s not up for debate that a large amount of Bernie Bros stayed home instead of voted. That 12% is only a portion of those that chose to vote against their own interests- the remaining asshats that threw a temper tantrum and stayed home were no different than the kids now.

          Same show- different band.

          • Tinidril@midwest.social
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            11 months ago

            First of all, fuck you for “Bernie Bros” slur. Bernie had the most inclusive campaign of any candidate.

            The people who stayed home were not steadfast Bernie supporters. If they were, they would have done what Bernie asked them to do when he endorsed Hillary, and then Biden. Also, 12% is the smallest number we have seen in the last 50 years.

            A huge part of this country absolutely hates establishment politicians of either party. Voter turnout in the US is abysmal because of that. Bernie had a unique ability to rouse those voters, and we could have had them in the general, bot nothing was going to make them show up for Joe Biden.

            The insane logic behind your tantrums is that being a politician with a broader appeal than other politicians in your party is a bad thing. It’s no wonder Democrats managed to lose to a circus clown.

            You are not going to berate anti-establishment voters, especially conservative anti-establishment voters, into showing up at the polls. That is not a thing that happens in this reality. The only thing you might achieve is to convince even more voters that the system is hopeless and not worth their time to get involved.

            The bottom line is, that this country was very likely doomed when Biden won that primary. He was the wrong candidate, and the reasons why are playing out before your eyes. The absolute best case scenario is that Biden manages to edge our Trump, and then God help the Democratic party in 2028.

            • Pratai
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              11 months ago

              Bernie Bros then, “gEnoCiDe jOe” kids now.

              Same thing.

              • Tinidril@midwest.social
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                11 months ago

                Yeah, getting pissed about genocide actually is kinda like getting pissed about a medical system that is killing people by the thousands. Setting aside your slur, you aren’t entirely wrong.

                If I were a Republican strategist, I would have trolls doing exactly what you are, in addition to trolls attacking Biden. Maybe that’s even you, but I don’t know how we could tell.

                If you want to argue that Biden isn’t as culpable for what’s going on as many think he is, I think there is a case to be made. Biden sure makes it difficult, not to mention Pelosi’s latest idiocy, but foreign policy is complicated. I personally don’t think “Genocide Joe” is entirely fair, but I also know that you aren’t going to convince people of that by being an asshole and throwing slurs at them.

          • go_go_gadget@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            Buddy, those were traditionally Republican voters who decided to vote for someone running as a Democrat. That’s how much appeal Bernie had. I know this because I phone banked during the primaries and after people living in open primary states realized how primaries worked and I wasn’t calling to fight Trump they got excited hearing about Bernie.

            You’re imagining that a bunch of voters who voted for Obama suddenly voted for Trump in 2016. Sure bud.

            • Pratai
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              11 months ago

              No, not all of them were. There were TONS of democratic voters that bailed when Berne dripped out. Don’t play it down. We were all there.

              • go_go_gadget@lemmy.world
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                11 months ago

                Oh I definitely bailed. I’m not denying that at all. But we were talking about Bernie supporters who voted for Trump. I voted but I didn’t vote for Trump or Hillary.