this post was submitted on 30 Dec 2023

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204

Electile dysfunction (lemmy.world)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

30 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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[–] [email protected] 90 points 10 months ago (1 children)

General elections and primaries are two different things. I'm not going to sabotage the nation by letting someone even further right of the Democratic candidate get elected by protest voting 3rd party. I sure a shit will vote as far left as I can in primaries and will pick the most progressive candidate in state and local elections.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 10 months ago (2 children)

And while they are in office, you give them hell to get them to act more progressively to keep your vote. This is how democracy is supposed to work. I don’t see what point OP is trying to make.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Hang on because the next year is going to get insane with stuff like this.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Yeah, and our current weapon support for Israel isn’t helping win over any lefties.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I think the meme is endearing. Yes, we will accept you if you're running as a Democrat and hopefully you will have some progressive policies. Once in offic we should hold them to the fire else they might become complacent. They are OUR representatives. Representing so many people with so many differing ideas can be hellish. Very easy to just give in and collect money until you can become a lobbyist.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I will never vote right of full abortion access to any woman at any time and universal healthcare. Lately America is so far right anything left of martial law and Dicktatership is considered communism.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago

what's taters, precious?

[–] [email protected] 33 points 10 months ago (1 children)

As the saying goes:

Conservatives fall in line, but progressives need to fall in love.

Progressives are always re-evaluating the candidate and their support for it, as the candidate's value comes from adhering to the plan, while conservatives are loyal to an obvious fault and increasingly so in the face of adversity.

It's the toxic imperialism that only American traitors wished to re-establish 200 years ago, and it's toxic imperialism today.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 10 months ago

Critical thinking has a liberal bias

[–] [email protected] 26 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

its almost as if liberal voters arent indoctrinated cultists and will hold candidates accountable for stepping out of line, even if candidates previous works were well liked and supported.

[+] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

[deleted]

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

This is how democracy is supposed to work

Oh, right, that must be why the Overtone window is now so far to the right that even basic human rights are considered some extremist plot.. 🙄

Worst thing is, without meaning to or understanding why, you actually are right, "democracy" is working as intended, it was just never intended to work for you.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Republicans fall in line. Democrats see that, and since they need votes to get into office, they move towards the voters who show up. People follow their incentives, and for politicians it points due "get elected".

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

This is why Jimmy Dore and any other supposed leftist who screams to vote third party in order to "BrEaK tHe dUoPoLy" are engaging in active sabotage of left wing causes.

[+] [email protected] -7 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Progressive Voters during primaries: file_not_found.jpg

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (2 children)

More like: Damn I'll vote but the whole political machine better not drop their pretense of competition and coordinate to keep my candidate off the ballot... Again

[–] [email protected] -1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

So who was left off the ballot?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Err, not off the ballot, that was the wrong turn of phrase. Just effectively out of the race.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 10 months ago

Except for the "damn, I'll vote." Part, sure!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I consistently vote in my caucus. It disgusts me because I’ve seen some REALLY wrong political plays happen there, but I still go and vote.

But seriously, there’s a large chunk of democrats who do not give two shits about people, they care about power and manipulating it to put themselves in that place of power. And they see the party system as a way to do it (sadly, they’re right).

That being said, I continue to hold my nose and vote for Dems because at least they’re not fascist. But anybody that says “if only progressives did…” has not dealt with the Democratic Party in any serious level.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

At the end of the day, every progressive candidate who banks on progressive/younger voters turning out in the primaries has crashed and burned. Hell, if younger voters voted at rates comparable to the 65+ crowd, Sanders would've cruised to a victory.

Yes, every political group will have people who are there for their own power and benefit. But at the end of the day, we basically get the candidate we vote for. And the older, more conservative Democrats vote in the primaries unlike the younger progressives. It's a simple and tragic equation.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (2 children)

It’s because it’s really easy to take an evening off to caucus or vote if you’re retired. I have friends who are progressive who have claimed that their neoliberal boss intentionally scheduled them for caucus nights to prevent them from participating.

I caucused for Bernie in both 2016 and 2020. The Hillary supporters were gross and constantly were talking about how they could rig things so that Hillary could win even though there were CLEARLY more Sanders supporters in our precinct. When I would point out that some of what they were saying was really morally disgusting, their response was “well that’s just how the game is played, if you don’t like it then leave”. Hillary even sent out a “how to run a caucus precinct” guide that was full of misinformation. We were lucky that our precinct had 2 chairs, one a Bernie supporter that had the official guide. We ended up calling the State level officials for clarification on a bunch of stuff and they were pissed at Hillary for pulling what she did.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

So what stopped the 18-29 crowd from voting for Bernie on Super Tuesday? When it was during Covid and virtual every state allowed early voting and mail in voting.

Even Texas, who allowed early voting at ANY polling station in your county including grocery stores, only saw a single digit turnout for the 18-29 group. >90% of them stayed home.

That was the care for pretty much every state on Super Tuesday. No state saw even as high as 20% turnout for the 18-29 demo. 19% was the highest. A lot of the southern states that would have really boosted Bernie only saw mid single digits.

https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/super-tuesday-2020

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yes, it's easier to vote in person when you are retired and that's frustrating. But as an explanation for why we're outvoted by the elderly, it just doesn't hold up when we look at the evidence.

Multiple states allow mail in voting for primaries. In some, this is actually more common than in person voting for example, Arizona, Colorado and Washington. For these 3, in 2020 the percentages of young (18-29) v elderly (65+) were: 17-35, 10-37, 11-35 respectively

(This gets worse when you consider that while the two populations are similar sized, the elderly are much less likely to vote Democratic in the first place so as a share of Democrat elderly vs Democrat youth, the numbers would be even worse.)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Oh, I’m not saying that young people need to vote more often. They definitely do, and that’s part of the problem. What I’m saying is that it’s not all of the problem.

That being said, in my state (Iowa) the state seems to do everything they can to get young people to not vote. And if I’m honest, that’s not just the Republicans trying to push that.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

Sure but when we're being outvoted by a 2:1, sometimes 3:1 margin, that's on us.

It's sort of like voter ID laws, they matter but really, mostly on the margins.

At the end of the day, it's our future, our mess and our fault if we don't vote. Yes, it's harder but goddamn, the world burns and people die because we don't go and vote.