this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2024
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[–] Lightrider@sh.itjust.works 9 points 5 hours ago

A broken system gives you broken candidates.

[–] febra@lemmy.world 2 points 4 hours ago

Then maybe Kamala should stop glazing Israel's d. so much and actually do something to win back michigan muslims. They'll either vote third party or won't vote at all. The trumpists will vote Trump anyway. This post is purely delusional if you think you'll win some voting groups back just by dragging third party candidates through the mud. Especially voting groups so deeply involved in some issues that your beloved candidate clearly doesn't care about at all.

[–] christian@lemmy.ml 18 points 9 hours ago (3 children)

I don't understand why people make such a big deal out of these voters. Maybe I'm just consuming the wrong media, but it feels like third-party voters get 50x the blame nonvoters get for ruining elections with probably something like a thousandth of the population. I basically never see this discussion call out both third-party voters and nonvoters equally.

I keep seeing third-party voters maligned for thinking a candidate has hope to win a national election, I see so many arguments to address why third-party candidates can't win. In spite of that, I have never come across any community anywhere where people collectively believe these candidates actually have a chance. People who consume crazy media can believe crazy things, that's why MAGA is a thing, but there's a whole Fox News etc media machine feeding those people. Is there a forum somewhere with more than ten people where there's a consensus that a third-party candidate might actually win? None of the third party voters I have known or met irl believed this, and I would be shocked if they're all weird exceptions.

Like, please, where are these people congregating to spread the ludicrous idea that a third-party candidate can win a national election? Looking on the recent green party posts on their subreddits, the only thing I see even close is a thread with a headline about "candidates are electable if people vote for them", where the furthest they go in the comments is a few people talking about how big a deal it would be for the party if they got 5% nationally, and a couple other people replying to say the greens won't even get 1% this year but the election is still very important because of some nonsense about incremental gains.

It feels like we've imagined a brainwashing machine that does not exist in reality, rather than admit to the existence of protest votes. Condemning protest votes means condemning protest nonvotes equally, and we'll never have sufficient information about protest nonvoters to reasonably make a claim about how they would have voted. That would severely muddy any attempts to assign blame for election results.

If you're trying to convince these voters to act differently, the way to do that would be to address the arguments they're actually making, like the incremental gains nonsense. If you're addressing arguments they haven't been making at all, then it's worth asking whether you're trying to convince someone other than them.

[–] Pulptastic@midwest.social 1 points 10 minutes ago

Nonvoters suck too.

[–] Matombo@feddit.org 3 points 3 hours ago

It's about sending a message: "I care enoug to vote, but both of you are shit" in the hope that in the next election cycle the candidates are less shit.

[–] redisdead@lemmy.world -2 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Non-voters are idiots but ultimately they will not vote. You can't lead a donkey to water

People who vote third party actively get up in the morning to piss away their votes. It's like leading a donkey to water and they decide to eat sand instead.

[–] christian@lemmy.ml 1 points 30 minutes ago* (last edited 28 minutes ago)

Non-voters are idiots but ultimately they will not vote. You can’t lead a donkey to water

I don't understand what you're trying to suggest here. Taking it at face value doesn't make any sense at all - in spite of massively outnumbering third-party voters, the potential impact of non-voters should be dismissed because they are all somehow incapable of being convinced that voting is worth their time? Casting a ballot is a difficult mental hurdle to clear, so it's reasonable to write off anyone who has not yet shown that they're capable of doing so as a hopeless case?

If the argument is that third party votes are throwing a vote away, why should we consider a protest vote to be different in any meaningful way from a protest non-vote?

[–] RatzChatsubo@lemm.ee 22 points 10 hours ago (9 children)

People get weird close to the election.

People voting green party did so for a reason. Not everyone fits into perfectly shaped boxes for the 2 party system. Many vote 3rd party for leverage for policy change. The narrative of picking the lesser evil doesn't always apply to the narrative of the individual voter.

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[–] _lilith@lemmy.world 34 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (2 children)

Ranked choice voting eliminates the concept of spoiler candidates/parties.

[–] OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml 4 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

The duopoly of power won't add ranked choice voting

[–] Fedizen@lemmy.world 3 points 5 hours ago

People said this about weed. We literally had two states add it in like the last 10 years. Once a few more states pass RCV via initiative we'll start seeing legislatures take it up on their own.

You are correct. Also, OP is correct.

[–] NutWrench@lemmy.ml 39 points 15 hours ago (5 children)

I might risk voting 3rd party if this election wasn't a choice between boring corporatists and 100% concentrated evil.

The stakes are just too damn high to risk letting Trump get back into the White House again.

[–] TokenBoomer@lemmy.world 8 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Honesty is refreshing. I’m voting for Harris because I don’t want to see Trump’s orange face every week. Yes, I know what she is. Yes, I know what that makes me. I’ve made my peace with it. No, I don’t blame others who feel differently.

[–] Fedizen@lemmy.world 2 points 4 hours ago

I've always critiqued the democrats but I'm so tired of trump. I will vote for a thousand boring democrats if it means removing these entitled, lying MAGA idiots from anything resembling power. They all belong in lunatic asylums, not in government.

[–] communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 9 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

it's not worth it until first past the post is removed.

Until then it's mathematically impossible for a third party candidate to win. Focus your energy instead on removing first past the post, then you have a chance

[–] Gurei@sh.itjust.works 7 points 11 hours ago

The only time I went third party it wasn't to win. It was because I saw it as two main candudates so shirty that there was a good chance for third party to snag more voters than usual, possibly enough to gain slightly better recognition in the future.

The monkey's paw curled.

We got Trump. The recognition came as irrational blame for Trump.

I won't make the same mistake of voting for someone I think would do the best job. Now it's merely an effort to keep the worst viable candidate out.

[–] Rhoeri@lemmy.world 7 points 13 hours ago

This is the way.

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[–] AidsKitty@lemmy.world 10 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

Dont let online bullies influence your vote. Each citizen gets one vote, cast it for whom you wish to support. Learn about the issues, the policies being proposed, and cast your vote for whomever you support.

[–] febra@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

REEEEEEEEE how dare you vote any other way than what I PERSONALLY WANT? Have you thought about asking me first??

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[–] orcrist@lemm.ee 4 points 11 hours ago

There you go again. Blame third parties for your own failure. Keep doing it, tell yourself it's true.

[–] Godric@lemmy.world 16 points 16 hours ago

G.R.E.E.N.

GET

REPUBLICANS

ELECTED

EVERY

NOVEMBER

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