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Has anyone noted the pre-election uptick? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/politicalmemes@lemmy.world
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[–] -3 points 1 month ago (7 children)

No, do NOT do this. This just gives a boundary to the left and none to the right of the Democratic Party.

Always vote for "progressives" (or ideally socialists) in the primary. If you're in a red state, consider even voting and running in the GOP primary instead.

If your candidate loses the primary, VOTE AGAINST THE PARTY IN THE GENERAL. Make it apparent that they either move to the left, or they lose.

And - crucially - join and form organizations that publicly state they will do exactly this.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago

    But why be partisan? Why not vote independently, after an earnest scrutiny of the candidates and issues, for the welfare of the people as a whole? It sounds good and it would be very nice if it would work. It would also be nice if pi were exactly 3.000 instead of a bothersome 3.14159 plus.

    There are two reasons, one moral and one practical. The practical reason is this: You simply cannot be effective in politics unless you join in the process of compromise and conciliation whereby free men merge little groups into big groups until they accomplish a government. If you are not partisan you are on your own, everybody is out of step but Johnny, and the chances that you can have any effect on how this country is run are 140,000,000 to one against you.

    --Robert A. Heinlein, Take Back Your Government

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  • [–] 4 points 1 month ago (4 children)

    VOTE AGAINST THE PARTY IN THE GENERAL

    No, no, and no. Shit like that is how we got Trump. Stupid protest votes are not what’s needed right now.

    Does it suck? Yes. Do you just have to hold your nose and do it? Yes. But voting against things or not voting is what put us in this situation.

    The primaries are the time to push things left.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago

    Not just no but hellfuck no.

    If you're a safe vote for the party, there is no reason they should ever even consider what you want when deciding on policy.

    The primaries are the time to push things left.

    The General is the time to punish sliding right.

    Protest votes are exactly what's needed right now.

    Shit like that is how we got Trump

    This statement tells me that you still don't understand why Trump was a viable candidate (remember, wannabe fascist strongmen have run in the Republican primary since forever. They didn't used to get the time of day from GOP primary voters).

    Shit like voting Blue No Matter Who even after the Clintons sold the party body and soul to Wall St is how we got Trump. Ending Welfare as we know it is how we got Trump. Running on codifying Roe and abandoning the idea before the inauguration party hangovers have cleared is how we got Trump. Refusing to prosecute torture under Bush II and extending the Bush Tax Cuts is how we got Trump. Passing "insurance reform" that didn't create a public option and did give private health insurance corps 5 consecutive quarters of record profits is how we got Trump. Using Ukraine as a pawn to fight a proxy war with Russia is how we got Trump.

    I could go on, but if you refuse to see it with all that then there's no hope for you anyway.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    Shit like that is how we got Trump. Stupid protest votes are not what’s needed right now.

    It literally is not. Go do the math yourself - there is literally not ONE state where protest votes, even counting right wing ones, made up the difference Kamala lost by.

    The problem is that people, RIGHTFULLY SO, see that there's no effect to their vote, and don't bother voting for Democrats.

    You want to fix that, you clean out the Democratic Party. And the way you do that is exactly how I describe above. You want to not have to fight the leadership, you're going to continue to get the same failure you have for over 2 decades now. And that is how you got Trump.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (1 child)

    I think you underestimate the number of people who protest voted by refusing to vote at all, which is neither an actual protest vote nor the same type of problem. Not that I think it would have been a guaranteed tipping point, but it sure would have made things a bit closer. Compound that with one of the (designed) effects of the electoral college (devaluing voter turnout in high-population states), and you widen that gap much more.

    "America will have the most lethal military" and other signalings in favor of status quo imperialism sure did kill any interest for many left wingers to vote, and anecdotally I know many of my left-proclaiming peers took that as reason to forego the polls altogether.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago

    I think you underestimate the number of people who protest voted by refusing to vote at all

    So what you're actually trying to say is that people not voting is how we got Trump? Because calling not votes protest votes is just beyond confusing.

    You're not incorrect - but honestly, blaming the voters rather than the candidate seems insane. Especially since 7 million more voters HAD come out in 2020, and the Democrats avoided even the appearance of a primary in 2024.

    but it sure would have made things a bit closer

    horseshoes and grenades

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