“Every day Biden chooses to fund genocide, he loses support,” said Sunrise Movement.
From the perspective of realpolitik, I’m not convinced abandoning support for Israel will win him more votes from pro-Palestine groups than he loses from pro-Israel groups. Lots of moderate Americans support Israel implicitly.
Either way, it’s politically costly with no upside for him. I think Biden’s only hope on this file is for the Gaza war to end quickly before the next election, but I don’t see that happening. Looks like Israel’s plan is an indefinite multi-year occupation of Gaza under an authoritarian police state.
If you asked the average American what the difference was between Palestine, Hamas, Hezbollah and AL Queda, they wouldn’t know. I’m not saying that’s a good thing, but there sure are a lot of media articles that seem to be based on an American populace that doesn’t match up to their logic.
In the perspective of realpolitik, he’s fucked anyways. He’s down >10 points with young voters, and currently below Trump in swing states polling (just 1 so far, could be meaningless as a metric, but still relevant). DNC will support Israel because they’re a major political donor. The Ds went too hard to fast early in this conflict and it’s too late to backpedal. He’ll have to try really hard to either try to win back the young votes, or appeal to the moderates and never-Trump Republicans.
This whole election cycle is bizarre, nobody wants neither Trump nor Biden. Their favorability is abysmal, one’s about to go to jail while the other appears to be half dead. I honestly wish we had decent 3rd party infrastructure and rank choice voting, but I don’t think we’ll be breaking through this 2 party bs this cycle.
If a third party stood any chance for president, this coming election would be the one. However, I wouldn’t advise anyone to do so unless you really don’t have the slightest preference somehow. There isn’t a chance, it’s just better than every other time but still 0.
Maybe looking for ceasefire? Accountability of how Isreal use billions of dollars? Maybe Nato can go there and slowly stop hamas with targetd attack?
There are a lot of options the biggest military in the world can decide on, and yet he doesn’t show any sign of compassion or remorse of innocent human life.
Just FYI Israel isn’t in NATO, though it is part of the Mediterranean Dialogue.
Electioneering a genocide will surely work in his favor.
I think neither will work in his favor politically. But honestly, given what I know about the American electorate, I unfortunately suspect that “pro-genocide” may be politically safer.
I mean, sure, but what are we gonna do, vote for Kang?
Implement RCV, slay the 2-party system
Except the people who we need to implement it are rewarded by the duopoly
I can’t find Biden’s position on it, but the Obama administration he served in supported RCV. Democrats generally support RCV, Republicans explicitly oppose it. Many red states have outright banned it.
It won’t happen. Here in Canada where we have a healthier multi-party system, electoral reform was a Liberal party platform right up until they got elected, where it swiftly died. There’s no way the Democrats don’t do the same.
Voters don’t seem to care enough. While not nearly as easy in the US, Canadians could have voted the NDP in instead of the Liberals. But nope, most Canadians are very apathetic about politics, including electoral reform.
I loathe that Trudeau backpedaled on it. But the fact he faced no consequences (as in, got reelected) makes it clear that he was right. Not that many people care about it. Which is a dumb ass reason to backpedal, though, cause that’s the case for most policies.
They don’t think that far ahead.
I’m a fan of Bucklin voting in particular, allowing equal and skipped rankings along a bounded range of 0 to twice the number of candidates, every candidate default of 0. Give people an offline digital interface to do the work, they confirm it, print it, check it and it gets scanned to be counted. Undecided if I think votes should be weighted by rank or not, maybe just for tiebreaker.
sure, they will all go vote for… the other guy with the exact same stance except even worse?
stupid claim
The third party (probably the Greens). Or not vote at all when they otherwise would have - that still means a lost vote for Biden. Young voters tend to be far less willing to accept the compromises imposed by first past the post voting systems.
The threat to Democrats is real.
Those people are stupid and will only make things worse for themselves.
If they do withhold votes which gets the Republican nominee elected, they’ll probably come to regret it if they have two brain cells to rub together.
People said for years to stop fucking around or we’ll lose abortion rights. Well….
Look, I’ll be fine. Even if my wife or daughter needs to travel to get an abortion, I’m more than capable of affording it.
Fuck yourselves over for all I care. I may even get a tax cut because of it.
Just don’t say we didn’t warn you.
It’s just an observation of the situation we’re in, not agreement.
Help elect the guy who wants to literally ban Muslims over the other guy who supports Israel against terrorists… because it will show the Democrats you care about Muslim rights? Opposing Arab American interests will teach Democrats to support Arab American interests? Brilliant plan.
Not a plan. It’s about principles. Contrary to belief, some people like to sleep well at night knowing they did the moral thing. If you are willing to give up your principles and accept a genocide, then those people see you no different than Trump and the MAGA fascists. { In layman’s terms: Two wrongs don’t make a right }
Assisting the greater evil to get elected is not the moral thing. It’s being stupid and ignoring the reality of our political system.
Are you denying the genocide in Gaza? Or do you just not care? Is your need to defeat Trump more important than the 10,000+ deaths, and the future deaths that will occur? If defeating Trump and whatever future chaos he may bring is more important to you than a present genocide, I am not, nor will I ever be an ally. I won’t compromise my humanity for a socially constructed “election.” Your pragmatism isn’t logical, and is downright dangerous.
Or they will vote for no one like I’ve seen so many do in the past. Stupid claim.
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A-fucking-men.
They do this shit because they know they have us by the short hairs. “What are you going to do, vote for the actual fascists? You’re going to vote for Mr.Corposhill bombyMcBombsalesman and like it.”
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So by not voting for Biden you’ll get trump. Trump just wants to ban all Muslims… so yea… good luck with that.
So by taking voters for granted you lose them. Condescend more, it will never stop working.
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I am done voting for the lesser evil.
All it does is increase the overall evil.
We have been increasing the overall evil for FAR too long.
I saw comments just like this usher trump into office the first time.
Then force your party to support better candidates?
Elect better candidates in the primary? This year there is an incumbent. Let’s defeat, not elect, the greater evil.
And the incumbent is massively funding genocide and is trying to make that funding a closed door black box process.
Don’t support the rapist con artist fascist. Don’t support the genocidal fascist.
Only support good people.
Don’t support the rapist con artist fascist. Don’t support the genocidal fascist.
Your hyperbole is ridiculous. Trump actually is those things, and not voting for Biden is equivalent to supporting him. Replace first-past-the-post then vote for whoever you like, until then your obstinance is stupid and self-sabotaging.
Yes, by making the voter turnout abysmal.
Don’t give ANY corrupt assholes the stats to allow them to claim they are what America wants.
If you have noone worth voting for, be loudly disenfranchised.
If you have noone worth voting for, be loudly disenfranchised.
This is an excellent quote and fits the situation perfectly
Then have a real primary. If no one can beat Biden, what is there to lose?
Then the party needs to address this better this time around.
That’s what primaries are for.
The DNC is clandestine.
They hold a primary election to make you feel involved, then they throw a party and put forth whoever they feel like it.
Same model as the electoral college but with zero accountability instead of virtually no accountability.
All your vote does is inform The Party that you are buying their horseshit.
Ok what is your solution? Or are you just trying to stir things up and then give up?
A vote isn’t a say in anything in particular.
A vote is raising your hand in the attendance check.
Stop giving corrupt people your attendance.
Register independent. Vote on laws, not people. Pray the fire smothers without your fuel (your vote) so that we can finally build anew.
You support fuckers that literally run ads for far right politicians like Trump, helping them win their primaries so they can get the “easy” win. Not to mention the corruption and the utter fucking stupidity that went into nominating people like Hillary and Biden over Bernie TWO ELECTIONS IN A ROW!
You got trump into office, and your hostile attitude towards people who don’t unconditionally kiss democrat ass will ensure he returns. I hope some day you realize that and it makes you feel absolutely fucking horrible for making so much horrible shit happen
you don’t know who the fuck i support. i’m just telling you what i saw. you’re either extremely reactionary or arguing in bad faith. kindly fuck off.
I voted 3rd party in 2016, and guess what happened? Outside of organizing some massive vote for a 3rd party candidate, all you’re doing is preaching to the choir. Ineffectively.
We do what we can.
I don’t care.
Lesser evil rhetoric is horse-shit.
Not to mention Hilary wouldn’t have been any better. If she got in office we would probably still be balls deep in war with Syria. She rigged the DNC and ushered in Trump.
Don’t regret not voting for her. I do regret voting for Biden’s genocide though.
you can be done with it as much as you like but that doesn’t change reality… FPTP is absolute shit: vote for the lesser evil or you get the greater evil… that’s just the way it is
want something different? you have to change the system first
that’s just reality. deal with it or vulnerable people die and hate wins
Also, the only people even considering changing the system are the democrats. The democrats actually do have some forward looking people. The establishment sucks though.
it’s literally in their interests too: given how completely rigged the republicans have made things, changing the system is the democrats best selfish choice
Biden, your lesser evil, is making America bankroll the murdering of Palestinian children.
If you vote for Biden, you are making yourself accomplice in that.
Yes. Change the system. Stop voting for The Party.
cool cool cool so vote for trump and things get even worse for the palestinians
again, reality is fucked but that doesn’t change that it’s reality… work within the bounds of what’s possible rather than pissing into the wind because you don’t like the options
Not voting for Trump either…
Are we in the same conversation?
I explicitly said I refuse to vote for The Party.
Not touching the trolley lever is still a choice.
Absofuckinglutely.
Vote harderer Melkath! This time will be different then the last 13 times. Promise. Trust the neoliberal plan. It hasn’t… failed……us……… yet.
I’m with you.
Not sure if you are agreeing with me or misunderstanding me.
I’m agreeing.
Voting hard just enshrined abortion rights into the constitution of Ohio, which will save quite a lot of women’s lives.
Dunno if you care about that, but hey, I bet the women who would otherwise be destitute mothers or dead are happy with it.
So, are they going to vote for a federal abortion ban, fascism, a hot civil war, and rollbacks of everything even marginally progressive?
Maybe some might because they just love to vote red, but at this time, there are other choices
A vote for third parties is a vote for Republicans.
Unless the republican vote is the split one, or the third party gets a majority (lol, that will be the day)
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mailto: editor@commondreams.org
Have at it…
I’m voting for Vermin Supreme. Don’t know where I’ll keep a pony but that’s something I can worry about later.
I give this country fifty years before it splinters.
Tops.
Before? It’s already been destroyed.
We need your optimism.
Can you imagine an ad with Biden’s full throated support for Hamas/Palestine backed by pictures of the babies Hamas murdered in their cribs? Biden would get slaughtered for that.
I won’t have to imagine the ads with pictures of kids being pulled from the rubble in Gaza with graphics of Biden supporting a genocide, interspersed with audio of him speaking of beheaded babies and unreliable death counts. That’s going to happen.
Edit: Don’t think I didn’t notice “Hamas/Palestine” . They are not the same.
Edit: Don’t think I didn’t notice “Hamas/Palestine” . They are not the same.
Polling suggests that Palestinians support Hamas over Fatah 53% to 14% as of last year. If there were an election today, Hamas would take over the West Bank and retain control of Gaza.
I won’t have to imagine the ads with pictures of kids being pulled from the rubble in Gaza with graphics of Biden supporting a genocide, interspersed with audio of him speaking of beheaded babies and unreliable death counts. That’s going to happen.
In the primaries maybe, but not in the General.
Cool genocide justification bro. About half of respondents to some poll supported the biggest political force in Palestine.
What if america was being bombed because there are so many republican voters, and that party harbors dispicable terrorists who do mass shootings.
Thanks for shielding me from whatever disgusting representation of a human that is. Your sacrifice will be remembered.
Hey I’m in support of cutting off all stuff to Gaza until they conduct elections, but the UN doesn’t agree. Until they are no longer the defacto recipient of all the aid and political power of the Strip; they are responsible for their subjects.
