Is there a real plan to shore up our “democracy” if the Democrats win this election? What is Biden going to do next term that he didn’t do this term?
I feel like people are so fixated on Trump that they can’t see past him. Trump is a giant, clown-shaped piece of shit-- absolutely. How does the opposing party fail at politics so hard that someone like Trump ever even had a shot?
Just ask about DC statehood and the Dems’ inability to enfranchise over a million US citizens.
As soon as you scratch this problem, you discover how shallow and unserious the party is in “protecting democracy”.
I agree, I’m just trying to get others to see how little “resistance” the Dems pose to the more naked fascism of the Repubs.
I think the case of DC Statehood is an obvious example. Whether we’re talking about Kennedy, Clinton, or Obama, we’re talking about a party that’s deliberately disenfranchised over a million people on their watch.
Because Trump is great for me fundraising and keeping party bigwigs at the trough
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They’ve been saying this every election. This line is the norm now. There never was much of a democracy.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that “this line” became normal at the same time the GOP has been enacting antidemocratic legislation and putting forward antidemocratic candidates.
at the same time the GOP has been enacting antidemocratic legislation
1940: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnice_P._Clement
1964: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Eagle_Eye_(United_States)
1981: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballot_Security_Task_Force
From 1838 to Present: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felony_disenfranchisement_in_Florida
I like the insinuation that the US is an actual “democracy” lmao
If we do an election and the wrong candidate wins, the democracy goes away.
So you can’t vote for the wrong candidate.
And also, you can’t vote for a third-party candidate.
And also, you can’t abstain from voting.
So, really, you have exactly one choice that you’re allowed to make.
Democracy!
Also, unless you live in a specific set of states, your vote is effectively meaningless!
There’s downticket stuff and that shouldn’t be ignored.
At the same time, we get meager media coverage of the downticket races so its very difficult to discern who is good and who sucks unless you’ve got an in-group to turn to. I like to pretend I’m active in Dem circles, but I’ll be damned if I know who to vote for on my state senate seat much less all the judiciary races. The one guy I liked to primary out the loathsome Liz Fletcher turned out to be a serial sexual harasser.
But yeah, pretending my vote in Texas will swing the national election is absurd. And then trying to tie that national election vote back to “Oh no, democracy is ending if you don’t vote for my guy!” is even fucking dumber.
And also, you can’t abstain from voting.
[Citation required.]
We could actually improve our democracy by making voting mandatory.
We’d get a better representation of how all of the voting-age population feels.
Then maybe we can get politicians that support more thorough voting system reform.
We could actually improve our democracy by making voting mandatory.
Brazil has mandatory voting, and its just as rife with corruption and fascism as anywhere else. I like the idea of compulsory enfranchisment simply because it operates as a counterweight to disenfranchisement. A state with a legal duty to vote is one with a legal obligation to fully implement elections infrastructure (at least, in theory).
But when it comes to the quality of candidates? Well… Bolsonaro was not a paragon of civic virtue.
Funny how many comments just went poof! Gone! So this place is basically /r/politics now? Mods smoking out every opinion they don’t like?
Funny thing is, the deleted comments were from liberals, not raging conservatives spewing bile and lies. Must not have passed the purity test.
My thoughts exactly. Why is it that these “politics” sites just end up going completely Left? Is this “politics” or “Democrat Politics?” I get confused… apparently, the Right isn’t allowed to have an opinion any where anymore…
Pray tell, these opinions of yours that you’re afraid of sharing publicly?
I think there should be limits and restrictions on social programs. I believe in tough on crime, funding more police, not less. I believe that we should be allowed to question the billions being sent to Ukraine, without being told we’re traitors and spineless. The Republicans are the ones trying to limit the amount of money we send all over the world, and for some reason, this makes them the party of the “bad guys.” I’m against many ultra liberal views, like allowing petty theft to go unpunished, allowing the homeless crisis to grow in California because apparently, it’s “not their fault.”
Oh I got it. You’re a moron who can’t bother to rub his last two braincells together.
Spotted the tolerant liberal!
Does the right still have anything left to say that isn’t hate speech? The entire conservative economic schtick has failed the reality test so badly that most conservatives don’t even want to talk about it anymore. It’s all border wall nonsense, election denial, and reactionary isolationism now, and that’s the saner half of conservatism.
Yes. I’m Mexican American, family came here from Mexico, legally in the 50’s. Worked hard, and established a great life. We were raised in a strict Catholic household, so, ideally, my family always votes Republican. This doesn’t make us horrible people. We simply believe in different things than Liberals/Democrats. However, I’m also a firm believer in Gay Rights, Abortion, and social programs. But, I think there needs to be limits, rules, and restrictions on a lot of that stuff. That’s where most of my political beliefs start to lean more Right. Sounds like you’re just profiling based on what you read on Reddit and Lemmy. That’s like me saying all Democrats and Liberals are anti-gun, anti-religion, and hate white people We know that’s not true.
Bernie is right about why people vote for Trump, he’s wrong that it will be the end of democracy. America has never had a democracy, it’s had an electoral college with gerrymandering and 2 senators per state.
You know perfectly well why he means. US democracy is shitty as it is, but it can become a lot LOT worse, and Trump will make sure that happens
How horrible is your life bro?
So, which country with 300 Million people is doing it the right way? China? India? Do tell…do tell!
Don’t forget, Sanders is the only person Trump has ever admitted he’s afraid of.
Take with a grain of salt, considering Putin says Biden is better for him than Trump. While I don’t necessarily agree with the argument, Republicans (and centrist dems) certainly believe Sanders would’ve been an easy target for smear campaigns.
In the past few elections, voting feels more like a hostage situation than exercising my right to making a “choice”. This country is absolutely fucked if Trump is elected again.
Yes. That’s the end game of our type of voting system. You get two options and both suck.
We will get no progress until we get something like ranked choice voting.
Which we won’t get, because it doesn’t benefit the right people
If we can at least get 2 dems in a row in office we can begin to claw the Overton window back from the fascist side. It’d be a start at least
That’s far too naive. All that will do is entrench liberalism, which is extremely weak against fascism rising.
Easier said than done I know but if Trump wins my wife and I would strongly consider emigrating to another country. There’s only so much insanity one can take before needlessly going down with the ship. And if the calculus is that that my kids will have better prospects elsewhere, then so be it.
Oh brother… they say the same thing every time a Republican becomes President…if Trump becomes President, he’ll be exactly like he was before. This is just more fearmongering from the Left.
