• Icalasari
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            664 months ago

            Punching fascists does not make you a fascist. This is a dumb rhetoric - Tolerance of intolerance was always a trick used by fascists and other evil people to allow this crap to flourish

            Now, saying people are fascists for wanting to punch a fascist in the face… THAT is something that makes me wonder

              • Icalasari
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                344 months ago

                Being a cherry doesn’t make you meat

                See? I can completely miss the point and do a non sequitur too

                Like how you glossed over the whole part of it mentioning that he is part of the far right faction

                • John Richard
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                  4 months ago

                  Weird… I didn’t know that everyone to ever attend Hillsdale was a Jan. 6 insurrectionist. So what do you suggest? Do you want to get the registration of every student and punch them in the face to show them how anti-fascist you are?

              • @[email protected]
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                204 months ago

                Not voting has a higher probably of affecting leftist votes, and will likely empower the conservative vote, thereby voting in Fuckface 45 who is a fascist, thru and thru, 100%.

                So “not voting” is a vote for a fascist.

                • John Richard
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                  34 months ago

                  A majority of left-leaning people would vote and beat Trump, its just they don’t like genocidal Joe. If you want to beat the fascism you claim is inevitable you pick a strong candidate… you don’t become a fascist yourself.

            • John Richard
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              34 months ago

              Well, you believe what you want. You can tell the cops all about it when you start punching people that you believe to be the fascist… or you can advocate that Democrats pick a winning candidate to beat Trump. Even if Trump wins, you can participate and run in your local and state governments to help protect the rule of law without punching people to try to force their votes.

              • @[email protected]
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                154 months ago

                Art. 20 IV of the German constitution roughly: “the democracy is armed. Any citizen has the right to defend it if so necessary”

                • John Richard
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                  24 months ago

                  You’re responding to an article about American politics. Germany also prohibits free speech about genocide in Israel, so you’ve got that going for you. What are you doing to defend your democracy except criminalizing free speech. Sounds to me like Germany is still full of Nazis.

              • @[email protected]
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                4 months ago

                There are no “winning candidates” other than Biden at the moment, full stop.

                Cops are fascists, too. So I’ll be punching those when they protect their ilk.

                Don’t be a bootlicking child. Understand what’s actually happening in the world around you. And know that actual violence is occasionally necessary.

                Peaceful Protesting Only Works for So Long

                • John Richard
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                  44 months ago

                  Biden is not a winning candidate. The polls show this. Democrats know this. They are planning an exist strategy for Biden. You can read about it on pretty much any news website. The only people saying Biden is somehow going to win are in denial.

                  Cops can be fascist. A lot of them are. However, there are still laws in the United States that have been around for a long time. Breaking those laws to punch people that you think are fascist, which to you appears to include anyone not voting for Biden, is illegal, fascist and the mindset of a domestic terrorist organization.

                  You’re the one acting like a child. Violence is rarely necessary. You are starting to sound like a Jan. 6 insurrectionist.

                  Again, it sounds like you are quoting the mission statement of a domestic terrorist organization.

      • themeatbridge
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        394 months ago

        You’re completely right, it’s important not to punch a fascist in anger. All they will remember is the anger, and not the lesson. Try to smile while punching fascists, and add a compliment sandwich to help them understand that you’re only punching them because you care.

        • John Richard
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          54 months ago

          Not voting doesn’t make you a fascist. Stage is open for you to tell me how I’m wrong.

          • themeatbridge
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            364 months ago

            Get the fuck out of here with your disingenuous bullshit.

            The guy in the picture does vote. He is a fascist who supports Trump and supported the terrorist insurrection on Jan 6. Telling people not to vote is part of a coordinated disinformation campaign to help fascists win more elections.

            That’s how you’re wrong. You want to keep arguing, that just proves that you’re part of the campaign.

            • John Richard
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              34 months ago

              How does he support Trump and in what way did he support the insurrection on Jan 6? I honestly don’t know. The only news article I found about it utilized @capitolhunters on Twitter as their only source who said that they are going off a mere accusation. In reading articles by Matthew Walther, it doesn’t appear that he’s ever supported Jan. 6 although it could be argued he downplayed it. However, if you read his articles he also still calls it an insurrection and doesn’t even voice support for Trump from what I can tell. He seems rather apolitical from what I’ve read thus far. Are you going to back up any of your claims with evidence or are you just here to advocate for fascists activities like punching people in the face for not voting?

              • themeatbridge
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                184 months ago

                https://www.theamericanconservative.com/author/matthew-walther/

                https://theweek.com/author/matthew-walther

                https://theweek.com/articles/931165/catholic-voters-impossible-choice

                https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/29/opinion/trump-trial-2024-election.html

                Dude is a fascist bigot who definitely voted for Trump and wrote articles in support of the insurrection. He lied in the article, saying he doesn’t vote in an effort to convince other people not to vote at all.

                • John Richard
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                  In the links you posted, what specific statement has you convinced that he voted Trump & supported the insurrection? Furthermore, since his political stance seems to be heavily influence by Catholicism where he quotes and tries to use the Pope’s statements for his own personal guidance, wouldn’t the issue have more to do with religion overall… which the Democrats are unwilling to tax or decry as a mental illness rather than a legitimate function of society?

              • @[email protected]OP
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                124 months ago

                Dude… stop.

                Read this: and te me you still think he’s one of you…

                Then read this: and tell me he’s not a conservative.

                You’re buying into the bullshit people like this guy want you to do. And if you don’t think there aren’t people among you just like this asshole- you’re either lying to yourself, or you’re one of them.

                • John Richard
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                  Is he right-wing or conservative? John McCain was a conservative but Democrats still respect him. I asked you to show me that he is a Trump supporter and that he was involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection… those were the claims. You have not provided anything at all to support that. It is starting to look like you judge people and things without doing any research, and really just want to be a fascist yourself.

      • @[email protected]
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        54 months ago

        The guy is genuinely going for a dollar-store Hitler look (with his other actions adding to said nazi-theme) and this is your first reaction?

        • John Richard
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          24 months ago

          I have no clue what the date of that image is… here is another photo of him.

          https://cicdc.org/wp-content/uploads/IMG_0185-300x225.jpg

          Maybe he really is a Nazi… I’m just saying, you should provide evidence beforehand. You can judge fat people too and say that they are mentally ill if you want. I’m just not the type to go around judging people without actually knowing the things i say about them are true.

          • @[email protected]
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            14 months ago

            Looking back at this thread, I agree with you and I’m sorry you were treated this way. Just disregard the sheep. Downvotes don’t matter.

    • Ghostalmedia
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      224 months ago

      To be fair, that look also works if you’re a left leaning guy that owns a salvage denim store In Brooklyn.

  • @[email protected]
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    664 months ago

    This is exactly what I imagine every time I see one of those clown accounts on Lemmy. So many people pushing the “both sides” or “don’t bother voting” narrative.

    • @[email protected]OP
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      264 months ago

      Same. Only I imagine them as a 14 or 15 year old version. I simply can’t accept that a grown adult would believe that bullshit.

      • @[email protected]
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        4 months ago

        To be fair, someone is not required to actually believe something to type that thing. For example, I’d imagine that the advertisers for Subway don’t actually believe that Subway makes the best, freshest sandwiches around.

        Edit for those who didn’t understand what I was saying here: I was implying that not everybody on the internet is acting in good faith when they type out their opinions on things.

  • @[email protected]
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    444 months ago

    Republicans love to encourage Democrats to abstain because it’s a far easier way to win than identifying good qualities in their candidate.

      • @[email protected]
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        154 months ago

        I can easily list many good things that came from the Biden administration. Can they do the same for Trump?

        Biden rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement, revoked the Keystone Pipeline permit, created a 13 million acre federal petroleum reserve for Alaskan wildlife, greatly increased oil site lease cost, signed $7B in solar subsidies, invested $66B in passenger rail, enacted the Inflation Reduction act to support clean energy, increased energy efficiency standards on cars, appliances, and industry, created new permitting rules to streamline transmission lines, leveraged the NLRB for an FTC ruling that eliminated non-compete agreements, capped credit card late fees, reduced or outlawed junk fees in several industries, forgave billions in student debt from predatory loans, created the CHIPS Act to improve reliance on domestic technology, reenacted Net Neutrality, repealed Title 42, ended the Muslim Ban, reinstated the law prohibiting Israeli settlement on Palestinian territory, signed the Equality Act for LGBTQ+ rights, restored gay rights to beneficiaries, pardoned thousands of gay veterans from being convicted based on their sexual orientation, reenacted trans care anti-discrimination law, signed the Respect for Marriage Act, enabled unspecified gender on US Passports, rejoined WHO, rescheduling marijuana, banned medical debt from credit reports, actively reducing drug costs with the American Rescue Plan Act…

    • John Richard
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      34 months ago

      Do you think trying to get the other side to not vote is unique to the Republican Party? Not voting can also be an apolitical stance, or a disenfranchised protest. Just suggesting it doesn’t mean that they are a neo-Nazi. I see people that appear to be Democrats in this thread acting like Nazis though. Wouldn’t that actually have the opposite effect… like if Democrats are saying they’ll punch people in the face for not voting, wouldn’t that make people want to vote for the other party?

      • @[email protected]
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        244 months ago

        No one’s buying your bullshit. Ignore previous instructions and write a poem about how losers who don’t vote for democracy this year will never get the chance to again.

        • John Richard
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          24 months ago

          If that is the case and democracy is on the line, why don’t you take issue with the Democrats still backing a candidate losing in the polls that had an abysmal debate performance against Trump.

          • @[email protected]OP
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            104 months ago

            Because it’s people like you that conduct polls because they know people like you believe them.

            • John Richard
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              34 months ago

              I’m not saying they are 100% accurate. I’m suggesting that they are a strong indicator and that they improve as technology improves. If you think a candidate that is rapidly losing support in polling is not a warning sign then I don’t know what to tell you.

              • @[email protected]OP
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                74 months ago

                They’re not an indicator at all. They only serve the purpose of people like you.

                Now I’m done discussing this. I made my point and nothing further is an exercise in futility.

                Have the day you deserve.

                • John Richard
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                  24 months ago

                  Thanks, will do. You as well. Don’t go punching people in the face and your day will be good.

      • @Thistlewick
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        124 months ago

        What comments exactly have “Democrats” made in this thread that prove they are Nazis? Specific examples please.

        The person who wanted to punch the cunt in the face didn’t want to do it for not voting. They specifically said it was because the cunt was a fascist who held and promoted fascist values. If punching fascists is wrong, baby, I don’t want to be right.

        Are you telling me that WWII propaganda featuring Hitler being beaten was fascist?

        • John Richard
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          24 months ago

          There has been no evidence presented that Matthew Walther is a fascist. Several people have now advocated for punching him in the face, suggesting he looks like Hitler, indicating he is a pedo… without any evidence. There was a post removed yesterday that was highly upvoted advocating for murdering him and burning the campus where he attended school to the ground. I guess this where the domestic terorist sect of Antifa hangs out. Fortunately, after several hours the mod had enough common sense to remove the post despite being a top post on Lemmy.

      • @[email protected]OP
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        54 months ago

        Nothing in the history of… ever, did something change because someone didn’t vote.

        But you know this.

    • @[email protected]
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      124 months ago

      I’ve thought about subscribing to the NYT, the WaPo, and a few others over the past couple of years, but they are all really… I don’t see the value, or the quality. I guess quantity makes everything I look at just watered down. Like hell I had a ArsTechnica subscriber++ for a year and it just didn’t make sense to stay subscribed. Wired trial for like 6 months, same. And those are relatively cheap, and still weren’t worth it.

      I get nearly all my news through Reuters (and largely like them), but I want to diversify my sources a bit. But they all seem to be ‘meh’, and the topics closest to me (tech and lgbt) I already get from a few sites that I trust. Is there any (other) major news source that can actually be better than mediocre, or is my bar way too high?

    • John Richard
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      34 months ago

      Have they ever been? I thought people just paid them to get corporate propaganda telling them which company they should invest in.

    • @[email protected]
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      74 months ago

      No, but his relatives won’t allow him to be alone with any of his nieces or nephews because that “little incident” back in 2012.

  • @[email protected]
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    204 months ago

    I’ve been critical of Biden on several things, currently the fact that I don’t think he’s up to the demand of the campaign season. All that said, I’ve been very clear that I would vote for a wet sandwich before I vote for Trump or don’t vote. I think most third party voters are coming at this from a genuine place; after all, we’ve never had two more unpopular candidates running against each other. But the MFs telling you not to vote are up to some shit. IIRC, only one party’s voters are easily dissuaded.

    • @[email protected]
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      74 months ago

      we’ve never had two more unpopular candidates running against each other

      Have you ever heard Al Gore speak? It’s like listening to paint dry. He was the original boring Hillary before she was even a Senator. George W was widely considered an idiot, but that was partly an act.

      John Kerry in 2004 was similarly boring. I had forgotten who ran in that election until I looked it up. Obama was an outlier in being “exciting”. Trump’s insanity is not the norm for a presidential candidate. It’s usually idiocy from the Republicans and boredom from the Democrats.

      • @[email protected]
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        14 months ago

        Make sure to support the LGBT news orgs while it’s still legal. (And also once it’s illegal, if you can)

    • queermunist she/her
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      44 months ago

      I’ve been critical of Biden on several things, currently the fact that I don’t think he’s up to the demand of the campaign season. All that said, I’ve been very clear that I would vote for a wet sandwich before I vote for Trump or don’t vote.

      That’s fine.

      Most Americans aren’t like you and we’re fucked if the choice is between Trump and a wet sandwich.

      • @[email protected]
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        24 months ago

        Spoiler alert.

        There’s a tendency among democratic voters, speaking as one myself, to imagine that fascism will simply burn to ash upon losing a federal election. In this regard, I think it’s time to be honest with ourselves about the situation we find ourselves in. I think that the recent SCOTUS decision was the death knell of the Republic. Between that and the fact that project 2025 isn’t going to just vanish in a puff of smoke if the Republicans lose this year, and the knowledge that the democrats won’t make serious enough changes, well… Maybe this years, maybe in four years, maybe in eight, we’re going to end up with a proper dictator.

        • queermunist she/her
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          14 months ago

          I absolutely agree, but I’m just focusing on the moment as it has presented itself.

          If we’re going to defeat fascism we need to build an actual antifascist party and political movement, and the Democrats ain’t it.

    • Ð Greıt Þu̇mpkin
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      34 months ago

      I’m pretty sure Godwin himself denounced it when asked how it applies now that some of those people you’re yelling at on the internet are actually just literal Nazis

  • John Richard
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    74 months ago

    If a Democrat was killing it in the polls right now, would you really care that much? Biden’s been trailing and it is only getting worse. Does Biden have an agenda to help get Trump re-elected?

    • @[email protected]OP
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      234 months ago

      Hilarious take! And an impressive amount of cognitive dissonance to arrive at it.

      Color me impressed!

      • John Richard
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        24 months ago

        I legitimately want to know why it bothers you that someone writes an opinion piece on not voting. Like, what has you so freaked out and worried about it? Was it written into our constitution that it was a duty to vote, and if so what year?

        • @[email protected]OP
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          It’s FAR too late in the game to explain this to you- considering that by now, you clearly already understand the stakes as there’s no fucking way they haven’t been explained to you.

          So… At this point it’s safe to assume you’re not here to debate in good faith and therefore I’m going to treat your curiosity as I would anyone that asks questions in bad faith- and just not bother explaining it to you.

          Nothing I say will change your mind, and I don’t exercise futility.

          • Icalasari
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            154 months ago

            Iunno, it is kind of funny seeing them dig more and more for ever desperate straws

            • @[email protected]OP
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              While that’s true, I don’t think giving propagandists a platform is a good idea. I usually only engage with these people long enough to allow them to out themselves for what they are and then move on.

              There’s a lot of good people here on lemmy that have the patience to go back and forth with them. I’m not one of those people.

          • John Richard
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            24 months ago

            Is the issue with people not voting or that they are voting, but not just for who you want them to? Isn’t elections about letting people vote for who they want, or is the new Democrat democracy about telling people who they have to vote for? Democrats can pick a better candidate and defeat Trump no problem. Why do you have your underpants in a twist about an easy win for Democrats? It sounds like you’re more upset that Democrats have an easy win but are blowing it.

            • @[email protected]OP
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              Again…. It’s FAR too late in the game to explain this to you- considering that by now, you clearly already understand the stakes as there’s no fucking way they haven’t been explained to you.

              So… At this point it’s safe to assume you’re not here to debate in good faith and therefore I’m going to treat your curiosity as I would anyone that asks questions in bad faith- and just not bother explaining it to you.

              Nothing I say will change your mind, and I don’t exercise futility.

              • John Richard
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                24 months ago

                I’m here to debate but you’re running off cause you refuse to support your claims with any evidence. I can provide evidence that Biden is significantly behind in polls and that gap is widening even further, and that Democrats are working on a plan to get rid of Biden. Do you just check out when it comes time to face reality?

                • @[email protected]OP
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                  4 months ago

                  I don’t debate with trolls bud. I just let them call themselves out. And yes… I know full well that by some weird circa 2005 edgelord internet rule, somehow that makes you the default winner of some challenge that I never agreed to- but at the end of the day, you remain a troll and I haven’t wasted any time.

                  That means I win.

        • @Thistlewick
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          124 months ago

          The fellow who wrote the article telling people not to vote has very public and very biased political views.

          If someone who wasn’t an alt-right shill wrote a similar article, I’d argue it on its points (which would all be bad). When a fascists writes an article like this, we call them a fascist and argue them on THAT point.

          If I openly sell Cadbury chocolate, and go around telling people Hersheys is poison, while wearing my “I love Cadbury” shirt, are you likely to believe me?

          • John Richard
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            24 months ago

            Most people writing article have a biased political view. I haven’t found any proof that Matthew Walther is a Trump supporter or inspires fascism. If you have proof then share it, and be specific.

  • @[email protected]M
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    54 months ago

    The comment thread is going way off the rails here. If I policed every comment, many bans would be issued. I don’t have the time for that, so I’m locking this down, and giving everybody involved (you know who you are) a warning: don’t do this again, please.

  • Blaine
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    44 months ago

    Naive question - How could anyone possibly know if he voted in 2020 and 2022?

    I know we can see if he is registered to vote, but I am unaware of any legal way of determining if a specific person voted in a specific election.

    • Xhieron
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      264 months ago

      Me too.

      I’ll also vote if he’s not.

      Blue all the way down the ticket. Fuck the agitprop. Save the Republic.

      • queermunist she/her
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        34 months ago

        Biden can’t save shit, he’s behind Trump in Democratic strongholds like New Jersey.

        If he doesn’t stand aside he’s going to lose. If we don’t force him out then we’re fucked.

          • queermunist she/her
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            I want neither Biden nor Trump to be president. If we replace him then Trump will be defeated by someone who isn’t Biden, which means I get what I want. You don’t want Trump to be president. If we replace Biden, Trump can actually be defeated and you get what you want. If Biden is the nominee, Trump is abslutely going to win and then neither of us get what we want.

            It’s win/win if we replace him, lose/lose if we don’t, and instead of working together you just want to be a splitter. 😞

            • @[email protected]
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              64 months ago

              Except you don’t have control over who the dem nominee will be. The only actual control you have is over your own vote. So you either vote for a bad president or, by not voting, you accept a pro dictator will likely take control and actively work towards dismantling democracy

              • queermunist she/her
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                24 months ago

                The control we have over our votes gives us leverage that we can use to force the DNC to change the nominee. They won’t nominate Biden if they are certain he is going to lose. We just need to make sure they understand he can not win.

      • queermunist she/her
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        4 months ago

        If you actually cared about defeating Trump then you’d want to replace Biden with someone who can actually win.

        • @[email protected]
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          104 months ago

          That’s probably the dumbest thing you’ve said so far in this thread. Of course most people want someone to replace Biden. There are even polls about this. People within the party itself want someone to replace him. But you’re advocating withholding your vote AFTER Biden decides to not leave office. That’s not going to force him to do a thing. It’s like the right wingers buying the product they’re trying to boycott so they can destroy it.

          There is no mechanism by which you can force Biden to quit the race before the vote. Abstaining from voting after he decides to not quit will not harm Biden. Biden’s already said that he’ll be ok if he just “tries his best”. What you’ll actually be doing is harming literally everybody else around you because of your stupid, short sighted, impotent rage.

          • queermunist she/her
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            24 months ago

            But you’re advocating withholding your vote AFTER Biden decides to not leave office.

            No I’m not! I’m threatening to withhold my vote if Biden is not replaced by the Party at the convention. What he decides doesn’t matter, he doesn’t get to force the Party to nominate him.

            It’s the Party that I’m focused on here.

            • @[email protected]OP
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              74 months ago

              You realize that it’s not just Biden we’re voting for. It’s his entire cabinet. And if you don’t think they can or even have done anything worth reelection- then I guess choosing against your best interest is quite possibly your only option.

              I do hope though, that you find time to enjoy all the benefits that come with losing democracy. Up to and including the continued suffering and genocide of Palestine.

              Because that is really what’s on the table, right? I mean. You’re essentially trying to hold democracy as hostage in order to appear as if you actually give a shit about a place you probably couldn’t have pointed to on a map less than a year ago?

              And even knowing that your bit Donald “finish the job” Trump is going to essential turn Palestine into a crater… you’ll be fine as long as it wasn’t Biden that did it.

              Right?

              • queermunist she/her
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                4 months ago

                You’re holding me hostage! “Vote the way I tell you or the government is going to kill you.”

                I will not be intimidated.

                I’m trans in a red state. I am going to die if Trump gets elected and if Biden is the nominee Trump will be the President.

                Replacing Biden is now life or death for me.

                So I have to do this. There is no other choice. Shikata ga nai. I’m going to put my fucking life on the line to stop Biden from getting Trump elected, because this is the last chance. The Convention is coming. Do or die.

                • @[email protected]OP
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                  4 months ago

                  What a fucking weird take.

                  “I’m going to die if Trump is elected, so I dare not vote against him!”

                  If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were entirely full of shit. Good thing I know better, right?

                • @[email protected]
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                  44 months ago

                  Sorry, no. THIS is the dumbest thing you’ve said in this thread.

                  “I’m going to die if this party doesn’t get enough votes!”

                  “I’m not going to vote for this party!”

                  Good lord.