octopus_ink comments on Newsom is trolling Trump with his own tweets

[–] octopus_ink@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 year ago* (4 children)

Meh. He's a step up from Trump. So's literally anyone with whom I'm familiar.

So yeah, I guess if we want the 2016-era Democrats who sleepwalked us into Trump, and who see sacrificing trans rights as a necessary step so they can win some bigot votes, to be where we're setting our post-Trump goals I guess he's as good a milquetoast as any.

He probably won't try to dismantle our constitution and government, so alright, I guess that's not a given these days. 🎉

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[–] bampop@lemmy.world 1 point 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

It could be that his counter-gerrymander is all talk and there will be some last minute failure to act on it, in which case he is indeed milquetoast and also full of shit. But, should he follow through on it, that's the opposite of milquetoast and an important step forward. It's great to see some recognition that the republicans fight dirty, always and openly, and that acting in good faith when your opponent doesn't, just means you lose.

We are at war, a creeping and undeclared war but war nonetheless. Newsom may be an asshole and his policies may be bad. In war, your allies might not be your heroes, nor even your friends. As long as they are shooting in the right direction and having an effect, that's a good ally.

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[–] octopus_ink@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I feel like we're more or less saying the same thing, we've just spun it on opposite directions. But his gerrymandering thing, while good, is also reactive. Granted, it's more interestingly reactive than nearly every other thing Democrats are doing in response to R, but it's still reactive, and I still have no faith in his values.

So again, is he better than Trump? Yes. Yes he is.

Will a 2028 Newsom run just be a return to white men who are only slightly less openly owned by their donors than Republicans and Trump? Yes, yes it will.

Now here's where it gets tricky. I voted Kamala even though I was very bothered by her poor strategic decision to try getting Republican votes (see my visual aid below) and her seeming turn from everything Progressive. (The Atlantic had her pegged on this way back.)

So, I've been watching this R goes Right and D follows them for votes from people who will never, ever vote for them at the expense of progressives and the left for several decades now. I ain't no spring chicken.

When I voted Kamala, I vowed that I would no longer support a Republican-lite party. Where we are today is the logical eventual conclusion of every conservative and Republican platform position and policy I can remember from the entire course of my entire life. And they have arrived here via the Ratchet Effect.

I will no longer support it. If 2028 is someone with a D after their name running on policies that could have been pre-Trump Republican policies, or 2016-era Democrat rhetoric, they will have to beat whoever replaces Trump without my vote. I will no longer support the ratchet effect and no longer support a Democratic party who blames all their losses on the left while simultaneously clinging to leadership that is ancient, out of touch, right-leaning, and corporate owned.

This is very specifically not OK, and is enough by itself to lose my vote:

sacrificing trans rights as a necessary step so they can win some bigot votes

Edit: And before someone replies to mention Ken Martin and the supposed changes he will bring, wake me up when he's done something that shows it's not going to be more of the same.

Edited to add visual aid about R votes and to fix hyperlink.

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[–] bampop@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

Well yeah I didn't mean to suggest anyone should back him as a presidential candidate. The ironic thing is the democrats would probably win more votes from Trump's base by having a more progressive candidate, because the left / right spectrum isn't everything. I'm sure many Trump voters were people who knew they were getting screwed over by the billionaire class and corrupt politicians, wanted change, and were dumb enough to think Trump would fix things. They could be won over by a progressive candidate, but I agree a right-leaning democrat is precisely the thing they will never vote for.

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[–] octopus_ink@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 year ago

Well yeah I didn’t mean to suggest anyone should back him as a presidential candidate.

Sorry I'm very keyed up about current events lately, and while I'm not looking for a fight, some part of my lizard brain probably is.

The ironic thing is the democrats would probably win more votes from Trump’s base by having a more progressive candidate, because the left / right spectrum isn’t everything.

I agree with this! In 2017 I kind hoped his win would be like an electric jolt to the genitals for Dems to stop being how I've already described them being. If only...

They could be won over by a progressive candidate, but I agree a right-leaning democrat is precisely the thing they will never vote for.

I only wish I wasn't so sure that's who we're going to get. And with the same old arguments. "xxxx is just too radical. The middle will vote R if we go with them!"

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