this post was submitted on 18 Jan 2024
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Leftism

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Presidential incumbency is too strong an advantage that no party will ever give that up.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

more than likely, but we should advocate for ranked choice, open primaries alongside advocacy for ranked choice elections. More democracy is always a good thing, and we as leftists shouldn't shy away from something just because the establishment doesn't want it.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

The GOP has already banned RCV in Florida & (I think) Texas.

EDIT: Look at this stupid shit @ClockworkOrangeRoughy, downvoting facts.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I don't think I heard about that, is there a source I could read? That's incredibly disheartening, but we shouldn't give up in those states either.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

If I recall correctly, the Wikipedia page on RCV has a map

[–] [email protected] 13 points 9 months ago (3 children)

I have a feeling that if we had a primary & Biden won it, that wouldn't do anything to stop the ones complaining.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 9 months ago (2 children)

if Biden won another primary I probably wouldn't be happy, but that's democracy. At least there would have been a democratic process to determine the candidate.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

This is a fundamental problem with voters. The parties don't have to be Democratic. They don't have to give us a choice. Actually at one point they didn't. And that was 100% constitutional. The problem is basically not a single American beyond. Maybe the ones who actually hold office have any idea how the parties and the system are run. They just have vague ideas of how they think they should be run. And get depressed/ disheartened when they find out how things actually work.

I definitely agree with Cody's postulate that the different particularly means to do a better job of finding, preparing, and putting forth fresh candidates. The graveyard's going to be empty soon enough at this rate. But primaries aren't necessarily the best way to do it. They're just promptly about the only way to do it because of how messed up the system is.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Personally I don't believe that primaries are especially democratic even in it's best form, though I'd rather have a flawed democratic process than a purely oligarchic selection (to be clear, there is currently major oligarchic influence). However, it's never the fault of voters that they have to operate in an oligarchic system.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

You're right, it's not the voter's fault. It's the fault of the people that elect these individuals. Because no matter how wealthy or powerful you are, if you don't get elected, you can't be in office.

Oh wait, that's the voter's being at fault again. I'm 100% for changing the system. I agree with you that it's heavily flawed. And designed from it's founding to serve the wealthy. But blaming the parties won't change it. They're a product of that system.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

That already happened in 2016, there's a reason we run the incumbent they have the best odds.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

If that's true, then they shouldn't be afraid of another primary. Anyways, the video covers that specific topic.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago

If we held another primary and Biden won, it would 100% likely be BECAUSE THE PARTY DIDN’T RUN A FAIR PRIMARY.

Biden has an approval rating on par with NIXON.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Biden's not my favorite Democrat, but I will 1000% vote for him in the general. I support a primary even knowing that he would run away with it regardless due to name and incumbency. When I try to tell conservative friends that Trump is a threat to democracy, they point to this as a counterpoint. It's not at all equivalent, but there's just enough hypocrisy that they stop caring. It's a dumb and unnecessary strategy.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (3 children)

This is exactly the kind of shit that keeps Republicans in power. Liberals/Democrats can't agree on anything. The 2 party system is a problem at the system level, but attempts to divide the resistance against certain fascism are attempts to undermine democracy itself. Until there is the political willpower to dismantle the Electoral College, we will never, ever be rid of the 2 party system. Until that orange shitstain is behind bars or politically ruined or dead, we must continue to fucking compromise, which means that Ole' Joe Biden must have our undying support for one more election. After that, the whole Democratic party can burn to the ground.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

That's because Democrats are not liberals. Liberals may be Democrats true. But so are many of us pragmatic social libertarians. And we will never agree on many things. Fundamentally at its core. The Democratic party has long been a coalition party. Even if it's never been properly recognized as that. And that more than anything is one of the bigger problems. Yes, we need to get rid of the first past the post voting system. But that only happens when we acknowledge each other and work together.

Currently those like myself get little more than slower descent into fascism. Which is important don't get me wrong. But it's a hard sell to get many excited about. Much like fixing first passed the post. We also need liberals to acknowledge, and share power. So we can pursue shared goals.

For nearly the last 40 years liberals have run the party like a cabal. Giving away hard won victories for nothing in return. Not strengthening and refining the social safety nets but shredding and destroying. Adding eligibility restrictions and work requirements. All in the name of bipartisanship and reaching across the aisle. To the traditional party of American fascism and the new home of the Confederacy. Rather than acknowledge the rest of us and build allies and relationships that could actually improve things.

Sanders performance in past primaries are a loud signal of just that. But liberals being so completely insecure. That they feel a need to attack him even in pointless, largely unimpactful ways. As Wasserman Schultz did basically performing a Self-Own on the party all in the name of virtue signaling somehow. Because many of them strain so hard to keep their stranglehold on the party that they would choke it out before ever sharing.

Though not all of them. Since Sanders actually was given meaningful and important committee memberships. Despite being a newcomer to the party and an outsider. Someone there at a base level recognizes what needs to happen.

Neo-liberals, boomers are a dying generation. They've managed to silence the voice of us gen xers in general. And largely moderate the voice of millennials. That's why there really aren't many younger names working their way up through the rank in general. Why the bench is growing more and more empty. Because they generally won't and can't share power.

All this bringing us back to the primaries. And why this isn't about the primaries. But about the primaries being the only time, other groups feel that they are even heard now. The only time many neo liberals feel any basic need to even virtue signal to outside groups.

A quick addendum to not sound all doom and gloom. Even if we just hold off the fascists for the next two major election cycles. That is very likely enough that we will see some actual meaningful change. Roughly 1/3 of boomers have died already. In another 8 years we may get well over half of them. Effectively loosening their stranglehold. The question is, will we be ready.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (2 children)

One of the most thought out responses I've read on here.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

I won't make any assertions about how well thought out it may or may not be. But it did at least make sense in my head. And yeah I put in a bit more thought than I thought I would LOL. It's certainly got away from being just an off-the-cuff comment.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Well thought out responses are run through a spell checker first, even if that spell check is just a review and editing process.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Or it's just done quick and dirty on a phone but the content of the response is well thought out and enlightening Im purposefully not using punctuation as a way to tell you to go fuck yourself

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago
[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The big assumption here is that whoever republicans put forward next will be better. I generally agree that we all need to vote to prevent fascism but I want to believe there is a line somewhere, cause now it feels like both parties are moving more and more right each election and sooner or later just being more left than the obvious fascist is not going to be good enough.

Already, even if we both want the left to have a unified front, the far left are splintering from the increasingly centrist Dems and the seeming only legal democratic way to convince the party to stop putting forward such centrist options is for that segment to stop voting for them.

I understand that doing that in this election has too high a risk of ending democracy altogether. I just wish I had more confidence that wouldn't also be true in 2028 and 2032 etc.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

That is a system problem that requires a system solution. We won't have any options if Trump is in office again.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Quoting the video, "we shouldn't be forced to vote for a deeply unpopular president without a democratic primary because we have a fascism gun pointed at the back of our head".

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago

Agreed. But that doesn't make the fascism gun disappear and pretending it doesn't exist achieves nothing.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

It's true, life isn't fair. We shouldn't have had to go kill Germans to stamp out their fascism, but we did anyway.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago

Then we put all the fascists back in charge.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

Yea we get it but it’s too late. The youth needs to win this for dems and then dismantle the two regimes we call parties. Hell, many state GOP’s are going bankrupt so it shouldn’t be too hard.

Get these hegemonic dipshits out of politics. Especially the foreign actors pretending to be citizens. Root them all out.

Also text Resist to 50409 to send letters to your representatives! Resistbots AI also can take written and proposed bills and turn them into letters to send to your reps. It’s as easy as copy and paste!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I can’t believe I was ahead of the game on Cody and Katy, I’ve been saying this since at least late ‘22

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

What good would a primary do? All it would do is confirm to voters that the DNC agrees that the incumbent president is too old, which would undermine their brand and confidence. Moderates would swing to the right, and the person that potentially beats Biden would have to spend time introducing themselves rather than actually campaigning. Trump is an insurrectionist and literally 3 years younger than Biden, yet Biden is the dinosaur and unfit for the presidency?

[–] [email protected] -4 points 9 months ago

Cody, I love you man, but this isn't the time. You want to risk a Trump presidency by bringing in fresh blood in the 11th hour? No one here is glazing Biden, but cutting off your nose to spite your face isn't the call at this present time.