The discourse on American politics sometimes devolves to "Leftists who won't vote" & "MAGA Republicans" teaming up to "getting revenge on liberals".
this post was submitted on 28 Mar 2024
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Okay, then put it on the ballot.
On the contrary, I think it matters very much.
By voting, you are prolonging the existence of the United States and guaranteeing that the genocides it supports will continue. You have made yourself an active participant in reifying the implied consent of the governed that entitles the government to act on your behalf, and with your consent it will continue to ship weapons to apartheid regimes.
The utility calculation is dead simple: more votes for Biden in key states makes the governments' dealings with the Israel appear legitimate and discourages people from taking meaningful action which might alter that relationship. Therefore, discouraging people from voting is an anti-genocide strategy.
Sophistry. Half the U.S. doesn't vote in elections, and they're still a global super power. Whoever told you that is an idiot.
More sophistry. The government's legitimacy isn't brought into question by a lack of votes; your actions are no different from someone who is simply politically disengaged and apathetic.
Keeping quiet isn't an effective component of destroying the United States. Engaging in this argument the way that you are is a pro-genocide strategy because you are increasing the probability of more genocide.
You admit that half of the country is already on my side and still call it sophistry?
That's because our government isn't democratic. It only pretends to be so that the citizenry doesn't depose it.
Hence, this discussion.
As opposed to engaging in this argument in the way that you are, begging me to vote for more genocide because you're afraid the wrong half of our two-faced, one-party government would be put in charge of it.
Nope, that's a misrepresentation of my argument and you know it.
✨ Correct. ✨
I love happy roadkill, and I'm familiar with this comic. I'd have gone with the one where the elephant is reaching down the donkey's pants, though; it gets your message across more poignantly.
The the two parties form a bulwark against mainstream progressive political action. This is an inarguable fact, and if the option were between the DNC and green party, I'd vote green. The GOP is currently in a state of extreme disunity; it's in a condition strikingly similar to the whigs prior to their dissolution and so losing Texas will likely cause the party to fracture as well as giving Biden a guaranteed victory. Once the GOP is made irrelevant, a left-wing electoral movement may be able (with the help of non-electoral leftist activitists) to form a genuine left-wing party, which will make direct action easier and our ultimate victory just that much closer and more likely.
I was looking for a more apropos non-HappyRoadkill one, "They say the next one will be sent by a woman." "Really makes you feel like a part of history" as the drone drops bombs over them. But it must be buried deep in my image collection.
I'd certainly hope so, but the more realistic assessment is a split among the Democrats. Half of them will want to keep their current rightward drift in hopes of attracting ex-Republican voters, the other half will break off towards centrism, maybe social democracy if we're really lucky.
I'll admit that I hadn't considered the possibility of the democratic party fracturing. I disagree that it's more likely; the democrats are expecting defeat, don't seem to be as fed up with each other, and I think a victory is likely to strengthen the party rather than strain it. However, it definitely bears consideration and I'll try to figure out likely scenarios with the assumption that it does occur. Thank you for bringing the possibility to my attention.
It seems more likely to me because our first-past-the-post elections make a two-party system a mathematical certainty. If one of the major parties implodes, something else must take its place, and a faction among the other major party is much better equipped to attract the newly unaligned voters than third-party also-rans.
Manchin and the DINOs will go one way, AOC and The Squad go another. Party leadership will align with the former over the latter, so the Democrats become the new right-wing party. Whether the left-wing faction joins with the Green Party or the Greens become a faction of the new left party is a distinction without much difference.
Oh, you're saying that the Democrats fracturing is likely given the GOP's collapse. (I had thought you meant that it's more likely to collapse than the GOP.) Yes, that's certainly a possibility. The extreme flank of the Democrats and the moderate flank of the GOP uniting is likely, but this still provides us the opportunity that I'm hoping for. This scenario should result in a less powerful fascist faction, a more distinct progressive faction, and a more condensed conservative/neoliberal faction; fertile ground for progressives and leftist to grow our movement. Given the backlash against Trump and the loyalty of his remaining base I expect that if this happens the fascist faction will be locked in to supporting their own for a while, which will pull votes away from the neoliberal faction. Ideally, we'll see deep blue states turn green and red states start to turn blue.