this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2024
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[–] [email protected] 119 points 9 months ago (53 children)

The irony of literally anyone (eligible) not voting for Biden specifically because of his handling of the Gaza situation, and thereby doing their part to help Donald "Gotta Finish the Problem" Trump win, makes my bones hurt. I hate this timeline and I don't want to live on this planet anymore.

[–] [email protected] 53 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Not voting for Biden in the primaries is perfectly fine.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Agreed and I did the same yesterday. Will vote for Biden in the end, but I registered my complaint. As best I can tell, his tone shifted after Michigan so we'll see if there is more change on the horizon.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I'm usually skeptical of protest votes, but these primary protest votes are actually effective for the same reason voting is effective. Politicians aren't as static as we want to believe- their number one priority is reelection. When you vote, you are telling the candidates that you are politically useful and they will begin to pay attention to your needs. When you vote for all levels of government, you are giving deeper detail into what your needs are.

If a significant portion of a district votes for a Democrat as president, and then a Republican for state representative, the democratic administration will likely make more conservative decisions if they see that portion of the electorate as critical to reelection.

This naturally reveals a big problem with the electoral college, as there are maybe 5 states with critical demographics needed to win reelection. The people in Ohio, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, and Michigan are more influential to the type of administration a Republican or Democrat would run.

If the Gaza protest vote happened in Washington State or California, I doubt Biden would have reacted as much as he did for Michigan. That said, this problem politicians face goes from the President of the US down to the president of your HOA. So I'll acknowledge that the power of voting fluctuates depending on the specific outcome you are measuring, but there are so many variables. In political science you need to learn to live with paradoxes, and this may be one.

Either way, I believe we should keep voting; they are paying attention.

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

There are primaries for Dems? I thought Biden was automatically the candidate as current POTUS.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

There is still a primary, but the incumbent has only lost his party's nomination 4 times, only Democrat Franklin Pierce in 1856 was elected the other 3 ascended from Vice President. It has never happened since the modern primary system was created in the 1970s.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (3 children)

If any American ever has any questions about the Weimar Republic and why Germans didn't stop Hitler when they still had a chance to do so, just point them to the run up to the 2024 presidential election. People who secretly want fascist leaders will always have an excuse, if one goes away, they already have another excuse waiting.

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

Yes and these people become excessively angry with you when you point it out. Their goal isn't really to find a solution, it is to express discontent. They are divorced enough from reality that when you mention that Trump would be worse, they tend to lash out at you instead.

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

Ha I was debating (?) some gradbears with the argument that not voting against Donnie would result in more suffering but their replies can be summed up as "not my problem, I'd feel worse if I did"

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